# Data center battles escalate in Congress as states wage local fights  
**Published:** 2026-05-25T09:30:14.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/25/repub/data-center-battles-started-in-the-states-now-its-congress-under-siege/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/data-center-battles-escalate-in-congress-as-states-wage-local-fights

The escalating debate over data centers and their massive electricity demands is moving rapidly from local communities and state legislatures to Congress, where lawmakers are struggling to balance concerns about surging power costs with the nation's technological competitiveness.

[As reported by the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/25/repub/data-center-battles-started-in-the-states-now-its-congress-under-siege/), bills are under debate in Congress, the Trump administration has weighed in on the issue, and lobbying is intensifying as the Environmental Protection Agency proposes changes to data center regulation.

The scale of the challenge is staggering. [Data centers used about 4.4 percent of total U.S. electricity in 2023](https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/01/15/berkeley-lab-report-evaluates-increase-in-electricity-demand-from-data-centers/), but that percentage is expected to double or triple by 2028 as artificial intelligence demand grows. [The U.S. has over 4,500 active data centers with 700 more under construction across 38 states](https://www.electricchoice.com/datacenters/).

For Nebraska, the implications are particularly acute. [A recent report found Nebraska is one of seven states on track to have data centers use over 20 percent of total electricity consumption by 2030](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/google-proposes-nebraska-data-center-requiring-more-power-than-all-of-lincoln/). Google has already proposed a massive facility in the state that could require 1,000 to 3,000 megawatts of power—more than triple what the city of Lincoln uses at peak summer demand.

Finding consensus in Washington is proving difficult, with lawmakers proposing competing approaches. [Senators Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are pushing the GRID Act to assure consumers they will pay no increases in utility rates because of data centers](https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-blumenthal-introduce-bill-to-prevent-data-centers-from-increasing-electricity-costs-for-americans/). [Meanwhile, Senators Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are sponsoring moratorium legislation that would bar new AI data centers until strong national safeguards are in place](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4214).

The moratorium approach has found little support among business-minded legislators. "Some communities may have too many, but some would like the opportunity to have one of these data centers that pay a lot of local taxes," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who represents a state dealing with its own data center battles.

At the grassroots level, intense opposition continues. In May, community members screamed and booed when commissioners in Box Elder County, Utah, approved support for a massive 40,000-acre data center campus. [The industry's Data Center Coalition argues that data centers power modern life](https://www.datacentercoalition.org/about), from telehealth to banking to online shopping, and says the industry is committed to being a good neighbor.

Given Nebraska's unique position as a state with publicly-owned utilities and among the nation's lowest electricity rates, the debate will likely have significant local implications for how the state manages its energy infrastructure and economic development strategy.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/25/repub/data-center-battles-started-in-the-states-now-its-congress-under-siege/)
- [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report on data center electricity consumption](https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/01/15/berkeley-lab-report-evaluates-increase-in-electricity-demand-from-data-centers/)
- [Flatwater Free Press reporting on Google's proposed Nebraska data center](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/google-proposes-nebraska-data-center-requiring-more-power-than-all-of-lincoln/)
- [Senator Josh Hawley's office on the GRID Act](https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-blumenthal-introduce-bill-to-prevent-data-centers-from-increasing-electricity-costs-for-americans/)
- [Congressional bill text for the AI Data Center Moratorium Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4214)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/25/repub/data-center-battles-started-in-the-states-now-its-congress-under-siege/.