Input Stories

President Trump this week unveiled a plan to build new data centers across the U.S. (CNBC).

What’s going on: “Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, a Trump associate and founder of the property development company DAMAC Properties, is pledging ‘at least’” $20 billion for the project, President Trump announced Tuesday, adding that the firm could “more than double” that pledge.

• The plan’s first phase will take place across the South, Southwest and Midwest, in Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, according to the incoming commander in chief.

Start of an investment trend? The announcement is one of several big investment plans made in recent weeks by Trump supporters.

• “In December, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced plans to invest $100 billion in the U.S. and create 100,000 jobs over the course of Trump’s four-year term.”

Our view: More data centers will necessitate speedy permitting reform and significant increases to all-of-the-above energy generation and transmission infrastructure, the NAM has long told Congress.

• “Manufacturers and the data centers they use depend on stable, affordable energy—and given the strain on our national electric grid, that means we need to get new energy projects online faster,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen.