{"id":18562,"date":"2026-07-19T09:05:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T09:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18562"},"modified":"2026-07-19T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T09:05:48","slug":"power-companies-are-using-eminent-domain-to-seize-land-for-data-centers-as-70-of-americans-say-not-in-my-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18562","title":{"rendered":"Power companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers as 70% of Americans say not in my backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center<\/a> analysis.<\/p>\n

\n

While President Donald Trump has promoted AI advancement<\/a>, calling it crucial to economic and national security, polling shows that 7 in 10 Americans<\/a> oppose the construction of AI data centers in their communities, citing higher utility bills, pollution, noise and the loss of green space. These centers, which hold computer servers that process words, images and lines of code for large language models such as ChatGPT, also use high amounts of water and electricity.<\/p>\n

There is growing opposition to the infrastructure surrounding them, too, particularly the transmission lines needed to power them, which often must cross land belonging to private citizens.<\/p>\n

Where private citizens refuse to sell their land, companies are turning to eminent domain, the government\u2019s inherent power<\/a> to seize private property without a landowner\u2019s consent. But does a line built to serve a private data center<\/a> qualify?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a legal scholar<\/a> who studies eminent domain issues, and I interpret today\u2019s disputes over seizure of property for the benefit of AI infrastructure as the latest incarnation of a long-standing debate about the limits of taking private property for public use.<\/p>\n

Why is expansion needed?<\/h2>\n

Data centers have massive power needs that can stress electrical grids and threaten their reliability<\/a>. In 2024 they accounted for more than 4%<\/a> of the nation\u2019s total electricity use. Demand will grow as more are built. To meet this demand, power companies must build more transmission lines \u2013 and acquire land to put them on.<\/p>\n

Across the U.S. \u2013 in states such as Georgia<\/a> and Pennsylvania<\/a> \u2013 power companies have looked to eminent domain to facilitate these goals.<\/p>\n

What is eminent domain?<\/h2>\n

Power companies can approach landowners to purchase easements for transmission lines; if landowners refuse, the government might force a sale.<\/p>\n

The government may take private land without consent if the seizure is for \u201cpublic use\u201d and if the landowner is given \u201cjust compensation,\u201d according to the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment<\/a> of the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n

While the federal government has the power to initiate eminent domain actions \u2013 also called condemnations \u2013 most are done by state and local governments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Governments can also delegate this power<\/a> to private entities or \u201ccommon carriers,\u201d such as power and water companies, though every state has its own rules for whether and how these utilities can exercise eminent domain. In Texas, for example, the state Supreme Court<\/a> has held that a project must \u201cserve the public\u201d and \u201ccannot be built only for the builder\u2019s exclusive use\u201d in order to qualify as a common carrier.<\/p>\n

What is the \u2018public use\u2019 standard?<\/h2>\n

While property may be taken only for \u201cpublic use,\u201d the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted<\/a> that requirement permissively. In its 2005 Kelo v. City of New London<\/a> decision, the court held that economic development qualified, allowing New London, Connecticut, to seize homes for private development<\/a> around a Pfizer<\/a> facility. That redevelopment, however, never happened<\/a>, and Pfizer eventually left New London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response to that decision \u2013 and the public backlash that followed \u2013 45 states<\/a> enacted eminent domain reform laws.<\/p>\n

In addition to reform laws, some state supreme courts interpret the eminent domain provisions of their own state constitutions more restrictively. The supreme courts of Michigan<\/a>, Ohio<\/a> and Oklahoma<\/a> have all prohibited seizing private property to give it to another private party purely for economic development.<\/p>\n

This means private landowners may have more success challenging condemnation actions under their state constitutions than in federal court. Still, courts typically permit exercise of eminent domain<\/a> by utilities such as power companies.<\/p>\n

Data centers used more than 4% of U.S. electricity in 2024, and demand is rising. Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption>

What does this mean for data center expansion?<\/h2>\n

Suits challenging the seizure of property for transmission lines on the grounds of public use have mixed results.<\/p>\n

For example, the supreme courts of South Dakota<\/a> and Vermont<\/a> have each affirmed seizures by power companies, determining that providing at least some energy and improved power grid reliability to in-state customers were valid public uses.<\/p>\n

But this argument changes if transmission lines, some of which cross state lines, don\u2019t benefit anyone in the state.<\/p>\n

In 1984, for example, the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected<\/a> a power company\u2019s condemnation action because the transmission line in question would have run from Mississippi into Louisiana without benefiting any Mississippi customers.<\/p>\n

These decisions suggest that as data centers increase energy demand and stress current infrastructure, seizing land to improve power grid reliability will likely qualify as public use, especially if the intention is to secure reliability for in-state customers.<\/p>\n

Still, arguments around whether additional transmission lines actually serve in-state customers may give landowners grounds for a challenge.<\/p>\n

Aaron Walayat<\/a>, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Dayton<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/figurlazyload><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. While President Donald Trump has promoted AI advancement, calling it crucial to economic and national security, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1004,"featured_media":18563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nPower companies are using eminent domain to seize land for data centers as 70% of Americans say not in my backyard | Unlock Informed Choices with Us<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's a new legal 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There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. 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