Here we go again — Big Tech expanding its digital empire while ordinary Americans brace for higher power bills. According to reports, Amazon just closed a $700 million deal to buy land in Virginia for a massive new artificial intelligence data center. Locals have been fighting this for years, but apparently, when it comes to tech giants and their bottom lines, community voices don’t count for much.
The deal went through on October 31, when Stanley Martin Homes LLC reportedly sold the Devlin Tech Park property to Amazon Data Services. The land sits right next to neighborhoods and schools, but after a judge ruled it could be used for data centers, the bulldozers might as well start warming up. Residents, as expected, are furious.
“There’s been pushback since day one,” said local resident Catherine O’Connor. “People are not happy about this whatsoever… [I’m worried about] the traffic and the semi-tractor trailers… the impact it’s going to do to the water system as well as the power grid.” You can’t blame her — Northern Virginia, specifically Prince William County, is already drowning in data centers, and these energy-hungry facilities are stretching the power grid thinner by the day.
Of course, Big Tech insists these projects “bring jobs” and “stimulate the economy.” Right — tell that to the families who’ll be paying higher utility bills so Amazon can feed its servers.
Energy costs have already become one of the biggest political flashpoints in states like Virginia and New Jersey, and with these facilities devouring power faster than the grid can keep up, things aren’t looking better heading into the midterms. Even the Energy Information Administration admits demand is surging again after a decade of stagnation, thanks to — you guessed it — data centers and onshore manufacturing.
Let’s not forget: it was President Trump’s administration that actually had a plan for this. Back in 2020, Trump unveiled an AI strategy that called for building data centers responsibly — to strengthen America’s edge over China without overloading our grid or punishing consumers. The Department of Energy and industry experts warned back then that expanding AI infrastructure would only work if we made power generation more reliable.
As Frank Lasee, President of Truth in Energy & Climate, put it: “These profitable giants can afford it and should pay their own way. Let’s win the AI race with China — without hiking bills for everyday electricity customers.”
Exactly. America needs innovation, but not at the expense of its citizens. If Amazon and the rest of Big Tech want to build their data fortresses, fine — but maybe they can foot the power bill instead of passing it on to working Americans.
