Plot twist: construction unions are now Silicon Valley's best friends (and they love it)

https://worldbriefly.news/plot-twist-construction-unions-are-now-silicon-valleys-best-friends-and-they-lov

#SiliconValley #TechUnions #AIDataCenters

Had to pause my review of the Town of Olds Access to Information documents.

I'll try to get back to it soon...

There have been developments on the Olds front:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/olds-data-centre-power-plant-auc-9.7238203

#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIdataCentres #AIdataCenters #alberta #saveolds

Unfortunately, both articles are behind paywalls -- but you get the gist...

#GallupNM #datacenter water deal draws #Navajo concerns

By Donovan Quintero | May 14, 2026

"A proposed data center on Gallup’s eastern industrial edge has raised questions about water, jobs, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

"The Gallup City Council is considering whether to extend a long-term reclaimed water option tied to #TeraplexDataCentersLLC, a Virginia limited liability company identified in city documents as seeking to develop industrial and commercial uses, including a data center, on roughly 330 acres in Gallup.

"Public materials describe Teraplex as a modular data center and power infrastructure company focused on #AI computing, integrated power systems and factory-built infrastructure. Publicly available company materials do not clearly identify completed or operating data center campuses owned by Teraplex."

https://navajotimes.com/reznews/gallup-data-center-water-deal-draws-navajo-concerns/

Gallup data center proposal raises water, jobs and notice concerns

Marcus Williams, 5/17/2026

"A 330-acre #GallupTradeport data center could send nearly 110 million gallons of #wastewater a year into a water-stressed region already waiting on #NavajoGallup deliveries.

"Gallup City Council put off action April 29 on a wastewater deal tied to a proposed 330-acre data center in the Gallup Tradeport, and the scale alone sharpened the stakes: nearly 110 million gallons of wastewater a year could be routed to the project if the agreement advances.

"That number is now colliding with a much larger question in McKinley County and across the Eastern Navajo Nation, who bears the risk if a private technology campus moves ahead in a region where water is already scarce. At a May 14 discussion, speakers raised concerns about water use, public notice and whether the project could affect the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, the long-delayed system meant to carry municipal and industrial water from the #SanJuanRiver to Gallup, the eastern #NavajoNation and the southwestern #JicarillaApache Nation."

https://www.prismnews.com/local/mckinley-nm/gallup-data-center-proposal-raises-water-jobs-and-notice

#ClimateCrisis #ExtremeDrought
#Dine #WaterIsLife #WaterShortage #NoWaterForDatacenters
#NativeAmericanNews #AIDatacenters

ICYMI: As of today there are 1,172 registered participants for the Synapse application before the Alberta Utilities Commission.

What’s really interesting is that Premier Danielle Smith bragged about this data centre in her video announcing the separation referendum. It was an “accomplishment” she wanted to highlight in order to convince Albertans to vote to stay in Canada this fall.

A report from Olds with updated information on my story for The Mix, and behind-the-scenes email exchanges.

Oh, and flowers.🪻

https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/hundreds-of-rural-albertans-line

##ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIdataCentres #AIdataCenters #alberta #saveolds

Olds residents are fighting the Synapse data centre with facts. And awaiting answers to plenty of questions. Meanwhile, the company initially failed to notify the Olds hospital of their plans before submitting their application to the AUC.

“Is our fire department adequately staffed/equipped to control a major fire or explosion? Within 500 metres of the project site there is a retail gas station and cardlock facility, plus residences, hotels, restaurants, small businesses, our college, and major roads.”

https://www.thealbertan.com/opinion/letter-olds-data-centre-could-have-big-impacts-12380741

#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIdataCentres #AIdataCenters #artificialIntelligence #alberta #saveolds

$130 billion in #datacenter projects blocked by #protests so far this year

Winning fight against #AIDatacenters gives people a “taste of political power.”

Ashley Belanger – Jun 12, 2026

It’s clear that communities now have an effective playbook to block data center construction. This week, researchers flagged the first quarter of 2026 as producing the 'most blocked and delayed data center projects on record,' NBC News reported.

"#DataCenterWatch, a project from AI intelligence firm 10a Labs that tracks data center fights around the US, reported that protestors 'blocked or delayed at least 75 projects nationwide worth about $130 billion from January through March,' NBC News reported.

"That’s 'the most in a three-month period since the group began tracking in 2023,' and it shouldn’t be parsed as 'a cyclical spike,' the researchers said. Instead, there’s been a 'structural shift,' as 'communities have internalized an opposition playbook, legislative sessions introduced formal regulatory uncertainty, and the number of active opposition groups more than doubled to 833 across 49 states,' researchers said.

"The political momentum behind data center protests is expected to influence the upcoming midterm elections, with both parties increasingly sympathizing with resistance as opposition intensifies."

Read more:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/130-billion-in-data-center-projects-blocked-by-protests-so-far-this-year/

#USPol #WorldPol #ResistanceIsFertile #PowerToThePeople #HumanPowered #NoDatacenters #NoAI #Datacentres

https://www.techspot.com/news/112344-michigan-residents-voted-down-16-billion-stargate-ai.html

#openai #oracleaidatabase #ai #aidatacenters #nobillionaires #nobillionairesshouldexist #GuillotinesWork #hellplanet #michigannews #taxes

KKR bets $10 billion that AI needs its own infrastructure empire

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://nerds.xyz/2026/06/kkr-10-billion-ai-infrastructure-empire/