Greg Abel of Berkshire Hathaway Flags Growing Resistance to Data Centers Amid Political Shifts
Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel highlighted increasing resistance across the U.S. to new data center construction, as Pennsylvania recently mandated community consent for permits. This comes amid a surge in AI-related capital expenditures estimated at over $1 trillion annually by figures like David Sacks of Craft Ventures. The pushback is driven partly by rising energy costs and local concerns about infrastructure strain. Companies such as Digital Realty Trust are expanding their data center capacity, while Constellation Energy has secured long-term power agreements to support these developments. Vertiv recently announced an acquisition aimed at accelerating AI data center deployment. Investors have largely priced in a smooth rollout of this tech-driven buildout—evidenced by strong stock performance for NVIDIA and Vertiv—but the growing political and community resistance could disrupt those expectations.
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Topics: AI investment Berkshire Hathaway data centers NVIDIA regulation