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Energy secretary defends data centers as a tool to lower power bills and compete with China
Summary
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued data center development can lower electricity prices, create jobs and support AI leadership, rebutting concerns about water use and saying the Department of Energy can help communities secure rate protections and infrastructure investments.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a morning interview that data center development can be a tool to lower consumer electricity prices, spur local job growth and keep the United States competitive in artificial intelligence.
Responding to a report that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul planned a one-year statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers so the state can write new rules, Wright said retreating from data center development would hand an advantage to China. "If The United States backs away, drags our feet on data centers, China wins," he said.
Wright described the Trump administration's voluntary "ratepayer protection" pledge, saying large developers have agreed to invest up front in local electrical infrastructure, offer multiyear freezes on electricity prices (he cited three to four years in some cases) and produce local tax revenue and jobs. "If you visit the communities where a modern data center is being developed today, they are thrilled," he said, adding that filing in Indiana yielded reduced electricity rates for local consumers.
On water-use concerns, Wright said many new hyperscale facilities use closed-loop cooling and "don't evaporate water away," arguing they use "precious little water." He acknowledged communities' concerns should be answered "before decisions are made" and said the Department of Energy can help negotiate arrangements so communities share in benefits.
Wright also criticized opponents of data centers, saying some groups opposed to recent energy developments are backed by foreign interests. He compared current opposition to previous campaigns against fracking and called those efforts "destructive" when they rely on fear and falsehoods.
Framing data center access as central to AI leadership, Wright added: "The country that leads in artificial intelligence in the coming years and decades ahead will be the global superpower." He urged local officials to negotiate terms so communities capture jobs, price protections and other benefits.
The interview did not include independent data on water use, specific contracts or which companies had signed the pledge; Wright characterized the developer response as broad but did not name individual firms.
