Election wins put U.S. data-center expansion under scrutiny

Democratic victories in the November 3 U.S. midterm elections have put data-center construction under renewed scrutiny, while Elon Musk’s post-election suggestion that facilities in space look appealing drew attention to an alternative still far from commercial scale. Gina Hinojosa won the Texas governor’s race after campaigning for a temporary halt to new data-center construction. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship after advocating a pause on new facilities. She told CBS News she would sign an executive order for the pause and then determine what further administrative steps were needed. The election results give both incoming governors a platform to pursue their positions, but do not establish what restrictions they will enact or which projects could be affected. Musk posted on X, “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” after the results became clear. The comment came amid growing political opposition to large data centers, which require substantial electricity and water. The election has sharpened investor and industry attention on whether state-level policy changes could slow or raise the cost of projects supporting artificial...