The backlash against AI data centers just turned into a face-off: in one Maryland county, opponents and supporters staged dueling protests outside the government building over a proposed ban. From a courtroom showdown in Kentucky, to a record-testing strain on the power grid, to an oil giant agreeing to burn natural gas for a Microsoft supercomputer, here's what's reshaping the U.S. data center landscape right now.
🚨 **COMMUNITY** — In Prince George's County, MD, dozens rallied outside the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo demanding a halt to new data centers, while counter-protesters in matching orange shirts turned out to defend them. Council Chair Krystal Oriadha confirmed a 2-year moratorium vote next week; residents want a permanent ban. (Source: WJLA / 7News)
⚖️ **LEGAL** — Cave City, KY asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its data center moratorium. After the council passed the pause in May, the Kentucky Industrial Alliance sued; city attorneys told Barren Circuit Court the alliance lacks standing and filed a "woefully incomplete" application. (Source: Bowling Green Daily News)
⚡ **POWER** — As a heat wave gripped the East, grid operator PJM forecast demand climbing toward ~166,300 MW, threatening the summer record of 165,563 MW set in 2006. ComEd warned Chicago's West Side and western suburbs the local grid had hit a "critical level." (Source: PJM / ComEd / Reuters)
🔥 **AI / POWER** — Chevron signed a 20-year deal to power Microsoft's "Project Kilby" AI campus near Pecos, West Texas, with a co-located gas plant generating ~2.67 GW — among the largest oil-major-to-hyperscaler deals ever. Power is targeted for 2028. (Source: DataCenterKnowledge / Chevron)
💧 **WATER** — A new analysis found about two-thirds of the 800-plus AI data centers planned across the U.S. are slated for land that's been in drought. Georgia, now in severe-to-exceptional drought, is a flashpoint; 36 states are weighing new water rules. (Source: Tom's Hardware / EESI / Fortune)
🗳️ **POLICY** — A wave of new state laws took effect July 1: Florida bars utilities from passing data center costs to residential ratepayers, Arizona froze its data center sales-tax exemption for three years, Illinois paused its incentives, and Virginia began a new per-kWh consumption tax. (Source: MultiState / Good Jobs First)
🏗️ **NEW BUILD** — Microsoft broke ground on a new data center in La Porte, IN, and launched the state's first Microsoft Data Center Academy with Ivy Tech Community College to train local workers — a template for defusing community backlash. (Source: DataCenterKnowledge / Ivy Tech)
💰 **INVESTMENT** — Las Vegas-based Switch opened a private round led by Andreessen Horowitz to raise ~$2 billion at a nearly $50 billion valuation, up from $11 billion in 2022. a16z is committing $400M; Switch hired JPMorgan and Goldman ahead of a possible IPO. (Source: Bloomberg / Benzinga)
