During his campaign rally in Lakeland, Democratic candidate for governor David Jolly said he favors a moratorium on the construction of data centers.
A Ledger reporter asked Jolly about data centers, noting that a 4.4-million-square-foot facility is planned for Fort Meade, though the project still must gain the needed permits. In Lakeland, the city is moving toward a one-year moratorium on new data centers or other large industrial developments with a peak electrical demand of more than 50 megawatts.
Jolly gave three reasons for supporting an immediate halt on the building of such sites. He said the state lacks the necessary environmental protections. He mentioned growth management mechanisms adopted in the 1980s that have since been erased by Republican governors.
“We also don’t have the appropriate labor protections in place,” Jolly said. “The labor and economic impact is not worth the investment that we make.”
Finally, Jolly said he has concerns about privacy and safety protections as artificial intelligence powered by data centers becomes more prevalent.
“But start with the first principle: Big tech is coming in before we can get the appropriate environmental regulations in place,” he said. “They are using their money to make sure they get to do that, and I do worry on the other side of the aisle that candidate (Byron) Donalds is aware of that, and that’s why they’re supporting him.”
Fort Meade LLC, the company seeking to develop the data center, recently donated $10,000 to the campaign of Donalds, the leading Republican candidate for governor.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: David Jolly calls for halt on construction of data centers
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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By Gary White, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
