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On May 13, 2026 NatPurser argues opponents are as angry about transmission…

2026-05-13 · 12:41 UTC ·@NatPurser ·1 min read

Brief

NatPurser warns backlash to data centers is driven as much by transmission buildout impacts—buyouts, easements and eminent domain—as by the facilities themselves. While transmission upgrades are needed to replace aging lines and support electrification, the politics won’t separate lines serving data centers from lines serving communities, so resistance to transmission projects (e.g., Georgia Power seizing homes for a $17B data center) will broaden.

Why it matters

On May 13, 2026 NatPurser argues opponents are as angry about transmission buildouts — including buyouts, easements, and eminent domain — as they are about data centers themselves.

Key details

  • Transmission expansion is technically necessary to replace aging infrastructure, support electrification, and strengthen the grid, but NatPurser warns politics will not distinguish transmission serving data centers from transmission serving broader community needs.
  • A concrete grievance cited: The Tennessee Holler reports Georgia Power using eminent domain to seize homes to build power lines for a $17 billion data center; the thread also references forced relocations and projects like xAI in Memphis.
Source evidence

i think this is an underrated part of the data center backlash — a lot of people are just as angry about the transmission buildout, and the related buyouts, easements, or in some cases eminent domain, as they are about the data centers themselves.

ofc, we need massive transmission buildout with or without data centers, to replace aging infrastructure, support electrification, and strengthen the grid. but the politics will not disambiguate between transmission to serve data centers and transmission to serve the community more broadly.

so i think we’ll see broader pushback against transmission projects well beyond the data center context.

The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller)

“My childhood home is being taken by @GeorgiaPower to supply power to a new data center…” 🤔

They are now seizing people’s homes in Georgia via eminent domain to build power lines for a $17 billion data center.

One has been forced into Utah. And xAI in Memphis. And on and on.

Video

— https://nitter.net/TheTNHoller/status/2054394824699130084#m