Sure, people don’t like to pay for it in their electricity bills. There is more though:
“Data center moratoriums are the new fracking bans.
Environmental nonprofits are deploying the same playbook against data centers that they have used against oil, gas, nuclear and chemical companies over the past decade, and many business leaders are again tempted to stay silent.
But America is at a crucial moment that demands bipartisan realism on energy and electricity, the lifeblood of economic prosperity and global power. As artificial intelligence accelerates, abundance, cost and reliability must take precedence. Anything less will weaken national security, stifle growth and fuel inflation.
After the 2015 Paris Accords, the environmental movement initiated its attack on the carbon molecules underpinning electricity, fuel and pharmaceuticals. "Net zero," "decarbonization" and "energy transition" became organizing principles for governments, profit centers for consultants, and buzzwords for corporate pledges rooted in financial engineering over reality. Trillions in taxpayer dollars have since been squandered on "Green New Deal" schemes in the U.S. and Europe.
We were told that eliminating carbon emissions was a moral necessity to deter an "existential" threat to humanity. Yet zero-emission nuclear plants were shut down before replacements were ready. Coal generation was dismantled faster than it could be replaced with reliable alternatives. Gas pipelines were blocked even as hydraulic fracturing unleashed energy abundance and affordability and strengthened America's global position. In the past decade, the U.S. has removed more than 100 gigawatts of reliable coal and nuclear generation. Europe deindustrialized with even greater zeal, producing higher costs, poorer citizens and populist backlash.
Looking back, too many CEOs failed to challenge energy policies they knew were unworkable. Some supported them outright, either because they misunderstood physics or because political pressure made dissent risky. Climate activists were handed the reins as targets replaced trade-offs and aspirations replaced economic sense.
The arsonists are donning the firefighter helmets again. Trying to stop data center construction while expecting continued economic growth is no different from trying to stop oil, gas and nuclear production while expecting reliable, affordable electricity.
Data centers aren't a luxury. They are the factories of the 21st-century economy, converting energy into processing capacity the way refineries convert oil into gasoline and chemical plants convert minerals into batteries. Treating them as something society can simply "pause" doesn't reduce demand for digital services; it constrains the supply of compute, raising costs and outsourcing technological progress elsewhere.
The U.S. can't afford to repeat its energy mistakes. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, finance, healthcare, manufacturing and defense all require abundant, affordable compute power built at home. CEOs need not speculate about whether data center moratoriums will hurt their businesses -- they already know the answer.
Leadership now means speaking up, telling the truth about what energy and electricity actually require and saying no to data center moratoriums.
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Mr. Huntsman is chairman and CEO of Huntsman Corp., a petrochemical manufacturer.” [1]
1. They're Coming for Our Data Centers. Huntsman, Peter. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 14 Jan 2026: A13.
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