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A report by The Conversation has claimed that power companies can seize private land to make way for new transmission lines needed to meet the surging electricity demand of data centers. According to the July 16 report by Aaron Walayat, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Dayton, power companies can use eminent domain — the legal authority that grants the government the power to take private property and convert it to public use in exchange for compensation — to implement the takeovers.
The AI boom has led to a surge in data centers in the U.S., with thousands already operational and several more planned or under construction. While the massive superclusters are necessary for the technological revolution AI has brought about, there's growing opposition to their construction over several concerns. Among them are land use, noise pollution, water usage, and the impact of immense electricity consumption, issues that have reportedly made 70% of Americans opposed to building data centers nearby.
In many instances, data centers draw the required electricity from the grid. As the industry enters the gigawatt era, utility companies are under pressure to increase supply to meet surging demand. This requires building new power infrastructure, such as transmission lines, which often have to cross private land. When this happens, the power companies try to buy the land. Should the owner refuse, the government can force a sale through the eminent domain law.
The law grants the government the power to take private land, regardless of the owner's consent, provided that the land is for public use and the owner receives just compensation. The government can also delegate the power to “private entities or common carriers,” such as utility companies. It is this legal authority that power companies can enact to implement the takeovers.
According to the report, the law does not automatically grant infallible authority. The company must prove that the infrastructure will be for public use. Several states also reserve the right to interpret eminent domain laws according to their own constitutions.
The report highlights another layer of legalities amid ongoing data center tensions. Opponents have successfully blocked 75 planned data center projects in the first quarter of 2026, including the 2,100-acre Digital Gateway project, eventually canceled over a newspaper-notice technicality. On the other hand, several other projects have gone ahead, often with community support. Meta recently announced plans to expand its Hyperion AI supercluster from 2 GW to 5 GW.
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