Data Centers Aren’t the Enemy — They’re the Future: Editorial

For a bunch of unremarkable warehouses, they’re generating a lot of controversy. Data centers — low-slung facilities that house the server racks and energy systems that underpin the digital economy — have become a heated issue on the campaign trail. Politicians from both parties are pushing bills to restrict them. Some want a nationwide “moratorium.” That would be a historic mistake.

About 4,000 data centers now dot the US, according to one estimate, with 3,000 more on the way. Global capital expenditure exceeded $450 billion in 2024. Such facilities sustain much of modern life: cloud computing for communications, finance and health care; consumer ...