Local votes on development restrictions
November 3, when the US midterm elections take place, will also be an important day for companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. Local referendums in 10 US states will decide whether to restrict AI data center development. There are concerns that votes favoring tighter restrictions could delay data center construction and affect related companies, including semiconductor and power equipment suppliers.
According to Reuters and other reports on October 29, local time, at least 41 data center development measures will be put to a vote in 38 communities across 10 US states on November 3. Ohio, where data center construction is growing fastest in the United States, accounts for 21 measures.
The main proposals involve limits on construction scale and electricity and water consumption. Sunbury and Piqua in Ohio will decide whether to prohibit construction of new data centers with power demand exceeding 25 MW. Emporia, Kansas, has put forward a proposal to prohibit facilities requiring more than 10 MW of power or approximately 380,000 liters of water per day. Edgewater, Florida, will vote on a proposal to prohibit the approval, construction, expansion and operation of new data centers altogether.
Judging by public opinion alone, data center construction appears likely to face restrictions in most communities. A survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 69% of Democratic supporters and 54% of Republican supporters opposed data center construction in their communities. All six local referendums held through October 28 also resulted in victories for development restrictions. This reflects concerns that the costs and harm borne by residents would outweigh the economic benefits to their communities.
Potential effects on projects and suppliers
Large projects by Amazon, Meta and others could therefore be affected. Amazon is pursuing a $2 billion data center project, approximately 2.6694 trillion won, in Sunbury. In Piqua, where Meta is pursuing construction, phased electricity supplies of up to 140 MW by 2033 have been requested.
Project delays could also hurt semiconductor companies' revenue. In a February report, global consultancy Deloitte said that prolonged delays in data center construction caused by permitting issues could leave semiconductor industry performance in 2027 and 2028 below earlier forecasts. It identified memory and advanced packaging as particularly exposed.
By contrast, Baron Fung, research vice president at market research firm Dell'Oro Group, said, "Even if data center construction restrictions become tighter, a developer is more likely to relocate a project than abandon it," arguing that the ultimate impact would be limited.
The scale of data center construction across the United States is increasing. According to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, the power capacity of data centers under construction in the United States, measured in GW, rose 48% in the first half of 2026 compared with the preceding six months.
Original Korean article: Korea Economic Daily
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
