North Carolina House Passes Bill Regulating Data Centers, Fast-Tracks Nuclear

This bill signals a growing trend of states attempting to balance economic development from data centers against infrastructure strain and environmental concerns. Restricting incentives and adding regulatory burdens could shift where streaming and cloud infrastructure is built, impacting latency and operational costs for major players. The focus on local utility costs and grid reliability reflects increasing pressure on data center operators to internalize more of their energy burden. Watch for how other states react to these legislative efforts and if similar bills emerge, potentially fragmenting data center development across regions.