Support for data center regulation grows in US midterm elections, referendums in various regions

[New York Current Affairs] In line with the US midterm elections on the 3rd, a total of 41 referendums were held in local governments across the US related to the construction of data centers. In 40 of these cases, construction bans or stricter regulations were passed by a majority vote, or construction permits were rejected. In several southern states, including Texas, gubernatorial candidates who advocate promotion of regulation have been elected, and there is a possibility that progress will not be made in developing facilities to support the spread of artificial intelligence (AI).

U.S. midterm elections, data center issue: Republic struggles at Vance's knees - residents rebel against surge in plans in Midwest Ohio

Residents are increasingly concerned about the large amounts of water and electricity used and noise caused by increasingly large data centers. It emerged as one of the major issues in the midterm elections.

According to the U.S. election analysis site Ballotpedia, the most votes were cast in the Midwest state of Ohio, with 21 votes cast, followed by seven in Illinois and four in the eastern state of Maine, all of which were in opposition to data centers. Meanwhile, in the city of Harwood in the midwestern state of North Dakota, a proposal to require the city to conduct an expert review before approving construction was rejected.

"Residents stood up for their community," said a woman from Piqua, Ohio, whose city passed a charter amendment banning the construction of large data centers.

In the gubernatorial election, candidates advocating a moratorium on center construction won in Texas, southern Georgia, midwestern Ohio, and Michigan. Candidates calling for stricter regulations were elected one after another in the Senate elections.

In the financial market, there are concerns about the impact on AI investment. The New York stock market rose sharply on the 4th in response to the election results, but data center-related stocks were sold off significantly. Caterpillar, a major U.S. construction machinery company whose power generation equipment for centers is doing well, fell 5.2%. Nvidia, a major U.S. semiconductor company considered to be a leading AI stock, fell 3.2%.

Coreweave, the U.S. AI cloud company whose credit concerns triggered a sharp sell-off in tech stocks in October, fell 9.9%. Market participants said, ``The situation is difficult for companies that are planning to increase the number of data centers.'' (Japanese Securities)