Data Centers Are the New Climate Flashpoint

The cost transfer embedded in AI infrastructure buildout is not hypothetical — it is already showing up in rate cases and capacity planning documents at regional utilities. When a hyperscaler signs a deal to co-locate next to an existing nuclear plant, as Amazon has done in Pennsylvania, the transmission upgrades and backup capacity required to serve that load are socialized across the broader ratepayer base. The company captures the power; everyone else absorbs the infrastructure cost of delivering it reliably.