A New York Times/Siena University poll of 1,503 likely voters conducted in early September found 61 percent opposed building data centers for AI, with only 14 percent strongly supportive. Opposition skewed heavily among Harris voters and non-voters, while 2024 Trump voters were nearly evenly split between support and opposition. Environmental and water-use concerns topped the list of reasons for opposition, followed by community impact and general distrust of AI.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-15
A new BloombergNEF report forecasts that US data centers will consume roughly 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035, nearly double its estimate from nine months earlier. That figure would exceed the combined natural gas consumption of Germany and Japan, with grid-connected facilities accounting for the bulk of the growth rather than onsite gas plants built by companies like Meta, Microsoft, Google and Amazon.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-15
Bloomberg forecasts that U.S. AI data centers will consume up to 15 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035, more than double an earlier projection of 6.9 billion cubic feet. The surge stems from operators turning to onsite gas turbine generators as grid power buildouts lag behind AI compute demand, with data centers expected to draw roughly 194 gigawatts, or 20% of U.S. power, by that year.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-15
President Trump used Truth Social to reject growing calls from AI executives for stronger oversight of the technology, singling out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for criticism after Amodei urged a coordinated industry slowdown, independent audits, and international safety standards. Trump argued that the only safeguard AI needs is a competent president, and characterized nationwide protests against AI data centers as a coordinated effort to undermine American tech companies.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-15
President Trump phoned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang while Huang was speaking at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles, and was put on speakerphone to address the audience. Trump dismissed growing concerns about AI and data center expansion as a hoax, arguing that data centers create wealth for people and states. The call followed a weekend of Trump social media posts attacking Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to slow AI development and rejecting calls for new AI regulation.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-14
President Trump has publicly backed automated license plate reader systems made by Flock Safety, aligning himself with the surveillance technology as the midterm elections near. His support also extends to data center expansion and policies aimed at accelerating AI development without regulatory slowdown.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-14
President Trump said he sees no need for additional oversight of artificial intelligence, pushing back against safety warnings from industry insiders. He also claimed that opposition to AI development and new data centers is being driven by a coordinated campaign rather than genuine public concern.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-14
Developers behind the proposed Frederick Digital Campus have pitched a $110 million package to Frederick County, Maryland residents to secure approval for the site, which would house tenants including Amazon and Aligned Data Centers. The package includes a $30 million elementary school, $40 million in recreational facilities, a $14.5 million workforce training center, $10.5 million for agricultural preservation, and up to $100 million toward a water reclamation system that would cut potable water use by 80%.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-14
Y Combinator's newest Demo Day featured a batch skewed heavily toward deep tech, with startups like Atomarine pitching nuclear-powered floating data centers and Dipole Labs building optical networking hardware to cut power waste in AI clusters. TechCrunch surveyed early-stage investors who named nine companies that got flagged repeatedly as the standouts of the cohort. Investors noted the technology felt futuristic, but valuations across the batch were more restrained compared to recent quarters.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-13
AI companies are pouring billions into massive data centers and power plants to support 'agents'—AI systems that autonomously execute multi-step tasks rather than simply answering questions. Unlike a single chatbot query, an agent can generate hundreds of self-prompts to complete complex jobs, such as building an entire website over several hours. OpenAI recently touted a swarm of over 10,000 agents exchanging 2.7 million messages to tackle a longstanding math problem, though mathematicians have disputed the significance of that result.
wired.com
· 2026-09-13
A group of former EPA officials, working through the Environmental Protection Network, released a report identifying 30 federal actions since January 2025 that they say weaken environmental protections to speed AI data center construction. They argue this has pushed data centers toward dirtier power sources, worsening pollution exposure even for people who don't live near the facilities, and are calling on Trump to adopt a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge.'
theverge.com
· 2026-09-12
Insurers and reinsurers are exploring catastrophe bonds to help cover the massive, geographically concentrated value of hyperscale data centers, many of which sit in hurricane- and flood-prone regions. Industry experts told CNBC that while no dedicated data center cat bond has yet been issued, activity is building one step upstream through reinsurance vehicles like quota shares and sidecars as firms work out pricing and capacity.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-12
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