Berkshire CEO Abel Warns of Growing Community Pushback Against Data Centers

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โดย Insider Monkey·US·Read original
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Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel told CNBC's Becky Quick on September 2 that there is a lot more pushback in communities across the U.S. against new data center construction. Abel said Berkshire's role in the AI buildout centers on supplying power through Berkshire Hathaway Energy rather than building the facilities themselves, and that the company will only serve large computing customers on the condition that existing customers' rates are not affected. The U.S. currently hosts roughly 4,700 data centers, and New York became the first state to impose a one-year moratorium on large new data center construction, with at least 11 states having similar movements underway. Electricity bills near major data center hubs have climbed as much as 267% over five years, and data centers now account for 4% to 5% of all U.S. electricity consumption. Mizuho analyst Vikram Malhotra flagged data centers as a likely defining political issue heading into the midterms, while Abel said he views grid capacity and permitting timelines, not chips or capital, as the real constraint on the AI buildout, noting data centers already make up about 8% of Berkshire Energy's load in Iowa.

Impact on stocks 4

Energy Transition & Power Demand▲ · 2 stocks
Berkshire Hathaway Inc
BRK-B
± MixedRegulationrelevance

Abel says Berkshire will supply power to data centers only if existing customers' rates aren't affected, as community pushback and state moratoriums threaten the buildout.

Financials▲ · 1 stocks
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
8411
± MixedRegulationrelevance

Mizuho analyst Vikram Malhotra flagged data centers as a likely defining political issue heading into the midterms.

Artificial Intelligence▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 6

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