CRWV
The AI buildout is hitting a NIMBY wall
President Trump basically gave AI data centers a pep talk on Wednesday, saying they need “a little public relations help” as more states start pushing back on new projects. The message was simple: these facilities bring jobs, tax dollars, and a lot of economic activity — so why not welcome the machine room of the future with open arms?
But states are not exactly rolling out the red carpet
Pennsylvania and New York just made that harder. Pennsylvania’s governor signed an executive order layering on new energy, environmental, and transparency requirements for data center developers, while New York hit pause on new hyperscale data centers that need 50 megawatts or more of power.
That matters because this isn’t just policy theater. It can change:
- where AI infrastructure gets built
- how expensive power becomes for nearby communities
- how quickly developers can deploy new capacity
CoreWeave is the poster child here
CoreWeave’s CEO said on the company’s Q2 earnings call that moratoriums won’t kill demand for AI infrastructure — they’ll just move it around. That’s the big investor takeaway: the demand story may still be intact, but the geography of the boom could get messier, slower, and way more political.
CoreWeave also said it has 4.2 gigawatts of contracted power plus about 1.5 gigawatts of additional options and letters of intent, which tells you the company is still in full-scale land-grab mode.
Big picture
If you’re holding anything tied to AI data centers, power, or cloud infrastructure, this is your reminder that the bottleneck isn’t always chips. Sometimes it’s zoning boards, governors, and the local power bill. Fun times.