Allow AI Infrastructure Productivity Gains

Author: Austin Gae, Policy Analyst, and Richard Stern, Vice President

Affordability 101 · Chapter 5: Freedom to Innovate and Compete

Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise

Topline

Lawmakers should reject data-center moratoria and remove regulatory barriers to the reliable, affordable energy needed to power America’s AI infrastructure.

Background

Few technological advances can bolster nearly all endeavors. AI belongs in that category, as it allows a condensed and adaptable form of most collected human knowledge to be applied to solving problems from supply-chain routing to house hunting. AI, like railroads, electricity, and the Internet before, could usher in a new era of American economic growth. Sadly, in July 2026, New York became the first state to impose a one-year statewide moratorium on permitting of hyperscale data centers, forgoing huge potential benefits. To avoid stifling America’s economy, the often-exaggerated resource challenges of data centers should be met not with moratoria, but by expanding energy supply through deregulation.

Debunking Myths About Data Centers

• Myth: Data centers require vast amount of America’s water use and land.
• Reality: In Virginia, which leads the country with 14% of U.S. data centers, data centers account for less than 0.5% of the state’s water withdrawals.
• Reality: Loudoun County, Virginia, contains a significant share of global data center capacity on just 3% of the county’s land, even though the county itself covers only a little more than 1% of Virginia’s land.

Action Items (Congress and States)

• Reject data center moratoria.
• Strengthen the grid and enable reliable, affordable power.
  • States should repeal costly mandates and allow utilities to generate and sell electricity directly to data centers and other customers off the grid.
  • Congress should rein in the EPA’s attempts to restrict coal and natural gas with overbroad interpretations of the Clean Air Act.

How It Would Make Life More Affordable

• AI, cloud computing and data storage can make the economy more productive, helping businesses produce more goods and services at lower costs and making everyday needs more affordable.

Related Legislation: End EPA Abuse Act of 2026 (S. 4931, H.R. 9453); DATA Act of 2026 (S. 3585, H.R. 8400).

Bottomline

Allowing AI and energy infrastructure to be built will strengthen the U.S. economy and help unlock productivity gains that would make goods and services more abundant and affordable and lead to higher incomes for Americans.

This memo is part of Affordability 101, Advancing American Freedom’s playbook of 101 policy solutions to make life more affordable.

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