Perusing the latest headlines, one might think America is in the midst of a data center-fueled energy crisis. According to that narrative, our rising power bills are being driven by a shadowy cabal of AI developers, tech giants, and server farms that supposedly threaten to overload the grid and send utility rates through the roof.
That story makes for great political theater – a clear cut cabal of bad guys: tech and energy companies playing the scapegoats. Even Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently weighed in, wondering aloud if data centers are worth the investment.
DeSantis is right to be concerned about how AI technology is introduced, but wrong to oppose the rapid expansion of the necessary infrastructure – including additional power generation capacity that is going to be desperately needed if the United States, and Florida, are going to be competitive in the fast moving future.
America faces a looming energy challenge. Demand for electricity is rising thanks to everything from data centers to electric vehicles to broader household electrification. At the same time, our energy infrastructure is creaking under years of underinvestment, regulatory bottlenecks, and bureaucratic inertia.
But pointing the finger at data centers misses the forest for the transmission lines.
In fact, in states like Georgia, data centers are helping lower costs. Georgia Power recently locked in a three-year rate freeze, made possible in part by the massive capital investments that data center development brings. Instead of burdening ratepayers, these facilities are boosting the state’s energy revenue base, providing the financial cushion to keep prices stable. It turns out that steady demand from data centers helps power companies plan ahead both financially and in terms of electricity production.
Contrast that with places like the Mid-Atlantic, where the grid operator PJM has effectively become the post office of power generation. A multi-year backlog of new power projects and transmission upgrades has left capacity stagnant even as demand rises. The result? Spiking prices, rolling anxiety, and growing political backlash from both sides of the aisle.
So let’s call this situation what it really is: a generation and transmission shortfall, not a demand-side “crisis.”
We shouldn’t be afraid of rising energy demand. That demand is a sign of growth. It means more jobs, more tech investment, more innovation, and ultimately, more opportunity. But if we want to meet that growth without hammering ratepayers, we need to stop treating electricity as a finite pie to be rationed, and start building more pie.
That means streamlining permitting. That means greenlighting more natural gas, nuclear, and advanced generation projects. That means investing in transmission lines and building a modern grid that can handle 21st-century needs. And yes, it means embracing the role data centers play in both economic development and national competitiveness.
Some critics suggest throttling data center energy use during peak demand, or requiring them to install on-site generation as a condition of grid access. Those may be useful tools in a broader coordination strategy, but they are no substitute for the one thing we actually need: more power generation capacity.
Florida, thankfully, still has room to lead. With our pro-business climate, growing energy needs, and strong ties to the tech sector, we can be a blueprint for how to grow the economy and the grid at the same time. But only if we reject the false binary between electricity reliability and innovation.
Data centers aren’t the villain in this story. Government inertia is. Let’s stop trying to manage scarcity. Let’s build abundance.
