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Tech & Innovation

Big Tech Goes Nuclear

Big Tech Goes Nuclear

Why the AI Race Is Bringing Nuclear Power Back Into Technology Strategy Part 2 of the Growth Solutions KC AI Energy Series For most of the modern technology era, electricity was something Big Tech purchased. Build the data center. Connect it to the grid. Sign renewable-energy agreements. Buy enough

Who Pays for the AI Power Boom?

Who Pays for the AI Power Boom?

Why Data Centers Do Not Automatically Mean Higher Electric Bills Part 1 of the Growth Solutions KC AI Energy Series The headlines are easy to understand. AI data centers use enormous amounts of electricity. Utilities need new power plants, transmission lines, substations, and transformers. Someone has to pay for all

The New Data-Center Bargain: How Communities Can Make the Deal Work for Them

The New Data-Center Bargain: How Communities Can Make the Deal Work for Them

Communities do not have to choose between accepting whatever is offered and rejecting development altogether. They can negotiate a stronger deal—one that protects residents, captures public value, and establishes the rules before construction begins. Data centers are becoming necessary infrastructure. A community is approached with a proposal. Hundreds of

The Honest Ledger: What Data Centers Cost — and What Communities Gain

The Honest Ledger: What Data Centers Cost — and What Communities Gain

Data centers create real benefits and real tradeoffs. The more useful question is not whether they are “good” or “bad,” but whether communities understand the trade—and structure it wisely. Data centers are becoming essential infrastructure. They are also becoming some of the most controversial infrastructure in America. Both facts

The Loudoun Model: What America’s Most Experienced Data-Center Community Can Teach Us

The Loudoun Model: What America’s Most Experienced Data-Center Community Can Teach Us

Loudoun County became the center of the digital world almost by accident. What happened next offers a lesson not in how to copy its success, but in how communities can learn from growth, adapt their rules, and govern an industry that changes faster than the policies surrounding it. Most communities

The Data-Center Divide: The Cloud Has a Physical Address

The Data-Center Divide: The Cloud Has a Physical Address

Before we judge data centers, we should understand what they are, what they do, and why artificial intelligence is changing the infrastructure behind our digital lives. Most of us can go an entire day without thinking about a data center. We check email, stream music, open a banking app, search

Festus Should Fix the Process — Not Forfeit a Generational Opportunity

Festus Should Fix the Process — Not Forfeit a Generational Opportunity

A $6 billion data center has exposed serious transparency failures. But Festus should correct the process, secure real protections, and think carefully before surrendering a rare opportunity. A $6 billion data center has ignited a firestorm in a small Jefferson County city. The process was flawed. The outrage is understandable.