Nebraska Legislature advances bill paving the way for data centers

Nebraska lawmakers once again advanced a bill regulating large, private companies in funding, constructing and powering large energy projects, specifically data centers.

Sen. Danielle Conrad led opposition to the bill while trying to find a compromise between opponents and the bill’s supporters.

She added that growing concern around the country about data centers, across political lines and cultural backgrounds, should be at the heart of the talks.

“‘Hold on!’” Conrad said, quoting what she called a growing chorus of voices from across the U.S. “‘We shouldn’t mortgage our land or our water or our power to massive data centers.’”

The bill requires any private company seeking to build a large project in the state to connect to a public utility and pay for the necessary upgrades.

Conrad and other opponents are concerned about the impact large private companies might have on the state’s energy and utility rates, as well as water usage and the economy. This comes after Flatwater Free Press reported that Google plans to build a data center that will use as much power as the City of Lincoln.

Conrad tried to amend the bill with requirements that any private company applying to connect to a utility must disclose its power and water usage, as well as the source of that power and water and what impact its usage might have on the Nebraska economy. Conrad said the bill creates a new business model that’s being fast tracked for a large company while putting pressure on Nebraska land, water and utility rates.

“I think that’s wrong, I think that’s rushed and I think that’s risky,” Conrad said.

But bill supporters struck down the amendments, with some denying that the bill has anything to do with Google’s project. The Legislature approved the bill by a vote of 34-7.

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