America cannot lead the AI race without building the power and computing infrastructure AI requires. On that I agree completely. But the piece gets the diagnosis wrong — and a wrong diagnosis produces the wrong cure. 🧵
The Gallup poll it cites shows a majority of Americans oppose data centers near their home, including 63% of Republicans. The real enemies of AI are electric utilities that use data centers to jack up rates and GW+ developers that fail to engage communities.
The electricity price comparison also misses the structural problem. Investor owned utilities don’t make money when you use what we have already paid for more efficiently. They only make money when they invest new money even if they don’t need to.
Give communities a good deal. Reduce their bills with great demand flexibility through batteries in homes. Demand response payments. Lower bills because of the data center.
utilitydive.com/news/governors…
Fix the interconnection queue. Accelerate transformer manufacturing. Deploy demand flexibility. Give communities a stake. That builds the coalition America needs to win the AI race. Get utilities to stop exclusively focusing on shareholders and get them to care about customers.
Deploy Action did a poll and found that 86% of voters want utilities to prove grid efficiency before building new infrastructure. 80% support demand response competing with utilities. 11% view their regulators favorably.
Voters already know the answer. The grid is not full. The tariff structure is.
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