AI's Next Bottleneck Isn't Silicon. It's the Zoning Board.
May 18, 2026AI Infrastructure·Noah OgbiMay 18
The industry just commissioned a study to prove data centers don't raise your power bill. That it needed to is the story. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, local opposition killed at least 20 projects and $41.7 billion in planned investment, even as Morgan Stanley warns the grid is already heading 44 gigawatts short. The binding constraint on the AI buildout has moved from the balance sheet to the county planning board.