American Compute Project

I’m sorry, but I’m taking a victory lap on calling this.

CHIP ROY COMES AT FOSTER Earlier this week, I tweeted obvious rage bait — with a kernel of truth — about how data center opposition is somewhat at odds with political conservatism. Clearly, I was talking about late 20th Century, pro-market notions of conservatism, not the more Burkean perspective of some of my critics. Congressman Chip Roy responded to say that the talking point was “arrogant” and might turn off those who aren’t categorically against data centers but have specific concerns. He wasn’t wrong! What I said isn’t something I would say if I were earnestly trying to sell a skeptic on data centers. Once again, it was largely rage bait in service to a more philosophical point about how the GOP is turning its back on markets. My problem wasn’t with what he said so as much as with the messenger himself. His rhetoric has not focused on specific impacts but has actually fanned the very suspicion that makes these discussions harder than they have to be.

Last night, I had the opportunity to address the city council of my hometown on the issue of data centers. I tried to briefly get across some of the local economic benefits of data centers and why we need to embrace them. Later, I had the opportunity to speak to a couple members privately, as well as members of the community, and I found these conversations productive.

President Trump is building a data center at a Cold War-era uranium plant in Kentucky. - $100B in private investment - 8,000 construction jobs - 600 permanent roles - Provides its own power with natural gas Making better use of our public land is one of Trump’s best ideas.

The Army has agreed to allow private companies to build data centers on two of its bases: - Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas - the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah The projects will provide a major influx of investment into nearby communities at no upfront cost to the taxpayer. The Army is also hopeful the new compute will enable capabilities like drone swarms and better command and control systems.

New York’s state-wide data center moratorium is particularly distressing because of New York City’s standing as a global financial hub. The frontier labs have offices there, and the city’s financial firms are among the world’s most ravenous consumers of software and data. Banning data centers is deeply off-brand for the state and city and a major symbolic blow to the United States overall. This is to say nothing of the practical effects on construction employment, local tax revenues, and the city’s prospects as a tech hub. Beijing, in contrast, is in the process of consolidating and modernizing their AI infrastructure to boost capabilities while saving electricity. This is how serious countries behave at moments like this, and U.S. officials like Kathy Hochul are failing key tests.

Tax incentives for data centers encourage developers to make large capital investments in the states that pass them. Most are structured as sales tax exemptions on equipment, so companies benefit to the exact extent they invest in the state. In 2025, Ohio allowed $1.5b in exemptions and gained $27b in investment.

Data centers are not causing us to run out of farmland. The largest data centers today are in the low thousands of acres. Meanwhile, we have almost 880 million acres of farmland and we’ve learned to use it way more efficiently, with farming productivity tripling since ‘1948.

Pension funds are investing in data centers, and that’s a good thing. This fuels our economic progress and national competitiveness and ensures normal people will enjoy some of the upside of the most dynamic part of our economy. Love him or hate him, Larry Fink was right.

Data centers can lower your property taxes.

Are data centers being built for mass surveillance?

Do data centers create jobs?