State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) is convinced that the majority of people in his district are against building any new data centers in the area.
The issue of new data center construction has been divisive as several cities across Alabama have been placing moratoriums on new data center projects this year, including Fort Payne, Cullman, Birmingham, Leeds, and Homewood.
Democrat gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones has called for a one-year moratorium on building new data centers, while Democrat U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) co-sponsored a bill that would put a temporary ban in place nationwide.
Givhan discussed the issue Thursday on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.”
“[T]here’s a reason Doug Jones is running the ad he’s running in the Madison County market right now or the Huntsville media market right now because there is overwhelming opposition,” Givhan said. “Now, this isn’t just something that’s just a few people grumbling on Facebook. Majority of the people up here do not want data centers in the Tennessee Valley for sure.”
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), who is the Republican nominee for Alabama Governor, has been defending new data centers in recent weeks, but that has not alleviated the concerns from many Alabama residents.
“I don’t think it’s going to swing the election by any means. But he’s got to he’s got to get something that is bipartisan, and that is a bipartisan issue that Jones can claim,” Givhan continued. “And people don’t really want to hear the nuances of it right now. I don’t think they’re you know that’s just not something that that they’re looking to hear. But we’ll. It’s going to be something he’s going to hammer on. It’s going to be something that coach is just going to say you’re wrong. But the people, the people are still saying we don’t want them, and so you know I don’t know how that’s going to all shake out in the end of the day.”
Givhan said he’s with his constituents on this one.
“I have been a broken record on it, in that we don’t need them in the Tennessee Valley,” he said. “I’m not condemning them everywhere, but I’m I’m saying we we don’t need them up here from an energy standpoint. I’ve been saying that for over well over a year before it was cool.”
The lawmaker said he will push a bill to ban subsidies and tax breaks if they are going to be built in the state.
“I plan on bringing legislation that will eliminate the tax incentives, and I’m sure I can find a host of people to co-sponsor with me,” he said. “You know, that’s
something I brought up a while back that got a little steam on here, as you know, if they’re coming anyway, we might as well tax them, and that’s you know that just makes perfect sense for me.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
