eminent domain

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Homeowner may lose 1/3 of her property to data center high-voltage power line
2 months ago
- Dominion Energy may use eminent domain to take part of a Virginia woman's yard and install a 185-foot power pole taller than the Statue of Liberty.
- The State Corporation Commission approved the project, which could seize about one-third of Vicky Hu's property and remove 400 trees on her land.
- The transmission line route (3A) would also pass near Rosa Lee Elementary School and Rock Ridge High School, prompting an emergency school board meeting.
- Data centers in 'data center alley' are straining Virginia's energy grid, leading to higher utility costs and community concerns over property rights and safety.
Georgia residents homes seized by private company in $16B AI data center plan
2 months ago
- Georgia Power is using eminent domain to seize hundreds of properties in Coweta and Fayette counties for a $16 billion grid expansion plan to meet surging electricity demand, largely driven by data centers.
- At least 330 properties are affected, with 20-30 homes to be demolished and many landowners forced to accept permanent easements for high-voltage transmission lines close to their homes.
- Affected residents, like Ansley Brown and Cynthia Van Epps, report lowball offers and coercive tactics, with some offers hundreds of thousands below property values and threats of condemnation.
- Residents argue the project disproportionately benefits private corporations, particularly data centers, while destroying their property values and quality of life, with safe distances from power lines not being met.
- Alternatives like burying lines or choosing less destructive routes were dismissed as impractical, leading to public outrage and legal challenges, including questions about blanket eminent domain authority.
- Georgia Power claims it negotiates in good faith, uses eminent domain as a last resort (less than 1% of transactions), and selected the route with the least community and environmental impact.
A 600-acre AI data center could cost some Wisconsin residents their land
2 months ago
- A 600-acre AI data center project in Port Washington, Wisconsin threatens private land through eminent domain for power lines.
- Tom Uttech, an 83-year-old artist, faces losing his 52-acre property, which inspires his work, to a transmission line for the data center.
- The data center is part of a $15 billion Stargate partnership under the Trump administration, aiming to advance AI and compete globally.
- AI data centers are highly energy-intensive, with single facilities potentially using as much electricity as a large U.S. city.
- Local officials, like Mayor Ted Neitzke, support the project for expected job creation, tax revenue, and community transformation.
- Residents and activists protest over eminent domain concerns, potential electricity bill increases, and environmental impacts.
- OpenAI and Oracle pledge to cover energy costs and use renewable sources to avoid raising local electricity prices.
- The final transmission line route will be decided by Wisconsin's Public Service Commission, with alternatives minimizing landowner impact.
- Uttech is legally challenging the project with a conservative law firm to protect his property rights and land's natural beauty.
Power companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers
2 months ago
- The US is experiencing both an AI boom and a data center construction boom, with thousands existing and many in development.
- Despite AI's economic and national security importance, many Americans oppose local AI data center projects due to concerns about higher utility costs, pollution, noise, loss of green space, and high water/energy consumption.
- Opposition also extends to associated infrastructure like transmission lines, which often require crossing private land, leading to eminent domain disputes.
- Eminent domain, the government's power to seize private property for public use with just compensation, is being invoked for data center power needs, raising questions about whether private data centers qualify as 'public use'.
- Data centers' massive electricity demand strains grids; power companies may use eminent domain to acquire land for new transmission lines to meet this growing demand.
- While the Supreme Court has broadly interpreted 'public use', many states enacted reforms or have stricter constitutional interpretations, potentially offering landowners more protection in state courts.
- Court rulings on eminent domain for transmission lines vary; seizing land for grid reliability often qualifies as public use, especially if it benefits in-state customers, but lines that don't benefit the state may be challenged successfully.

eminent domain

Homeowner may lose 1/3 of her property to data center high-voltage power line

Georgia residents homes seized by private company in $16B AI data center plan

A 600-acre AI data center could cost some Wisconsin residents their land

Power companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers