Tennessee bill gives data centers ability to self-power with limited regulation

Tennessee lawmakers this year introduced seven bills aiming to set up guardrails for data centers in the state, but only one crossed the finish line.

Data centers house the computers, networking equipment and cooling systems used to manage digital data. As data centers proliferate across the nation and electricity demand rises, some states have taken steps to control the resource-intensive industry’s impact on their infrastructure.

Large data centers capable of supporting Artificial Intelligence development and use can consume upward of 100 megawatts of power — enough to support 80,000 U.S. households, according to one Congressional report. Tennessee Valley Authority, the federally owned electric utility that provides power for Tennessee and portions of other states, approved a deal in February that allows Elon Musk’s Memphis-area xAI data center operations to purchase up to 300 megawatts of power...