{"id":404490,"date":"2026-09-19T10:28:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T10:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/404490\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T10:28:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T10:28:29","slug":"david-jolly-a-complete-ban-on-data-centers-in-florida-should-be-on-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/404490\/","title":{"rendered":"David Jolly: A complete ban on data centers in Florida should be \u2018on the table\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"David Jolly walking outside a section of the Vantage VA2 Data Center in Sterling, Virginia, on Sept. 16, 2026. Credit: Jolly campaign<\/p>\n

David Jolly has already made it clear he\u2019s a critic of large-scale data centers, for which Floridians continue to express disapproval up and down the state.<\/p>\n

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate had already said that if elected in November, he\u2019d issue a one-year moratorium on construction of these facilities. But after visiting a region of Northern Virginia this week with the highest density of data centers in the country, he says he\u2019s seen first-hand the economic and public health disruption they inflict on communities and that it\u2019s not what he wants to see in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI visited a family with a home, you open the door and you\u2019re hit with the noise pollution,\u201d he said Friday after attending an event with Habitat for Humanity in Pinellas County. \u201cYou walk outside, you see the turbines that are fueling the energy. Down the street, there were four kids who developed respiratory conditions who had to seek medical help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data centers also are deflating real estate prices in their communities, Jolly said. He learned of a home near a massive data center that sat on the market for nearly a year and ended up selling for $80,000 below list price.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest about what\u2019s happening in Florida,\u201d he said. \u201cBig tech, big data, the utilities are rushing into a relatively unregulated environment, or at least a favorably regulated environment. And that\u2019s why you\u2019re seeing voters who feel like they don\u2019t have the economic or political power to push back, stand up, and say, \u2018Please don\u2019t do this.\u2019<\/p>\n

Local communities in Florida continue to say they don\u2019t want data centers. This week, the Orange County Commission advanced a plan to temporarily ban data center development. Commissioners reached a consensus for a 6-to-18 month moratorium, depending on how long county staff need to research the potential harms, according to\u00a0Orlando Weekly.<\/a><\/p>\n

Three local governments in Florida have permanently banned construction of data centers, and 19 are pausing such development, according to\u00a0FloridaDataCenters.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Already operating<\/p>\n

However, 12 data centers are already operating in Florida and another eight are planned, according to\u00a0Cleanview,<\/a>\u00a0a marketing intelligence company. The Florida Legislature approved and Gov. Ron DeSantis\u00a0signed legislation<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year that bans public utilities from passing the electricity costs of data centers onto residential and small business customers. It also preserved local authority over zoning, permitting, and land use for such centers, and gives local governments authority to set strict standards or deny projects.<\/p>\n

Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds has expressed support for letting local governments decide whether they want to construct data centers. He has dismissed Jolly\u2019s one-year moratorium as \u201cpolitics.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Donalds said in Tampa earlier this month that construction of data centers would not resemble what Jolly visited this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Northern Virginia, they built them next to apartment complexes and residential neighborhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to allow that in Florida. \u2026 If you\u2019re going to do it, just do it a couple of miles down the road. Don\u2019t do it in residential neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates for data centers say they are needed in the United States, lest this country lose the race for AI superiority to China. The strongest advocate for that position is President Donald Trump. The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing data center-related proposals covering at least 17,600 acres of public land across six states\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, the Washington Sun\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0Friday.<\/p>\n

Jolly says he\u2019s perfectly fine if the other 49 states build data centers \u2014 just not Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no long-term economic impact from the data centers. There is the upfront construction jobs, but that there\u2019s not the legacy economic impact that actually justifies the disruption of a community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook I do think that our national policymakers do need to work through some things to the extent that it\u2019s a national security strategy. Let the White House and the Congress figure it out. But as Florida and Florida voters, we\u2019re saying don\u2019t build them here, let the other 49 states build them. It doesn\u2019t hurt our national security strategy to say no to data centers in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Donalds campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Florida Phoenix<\/a>\u00a0is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions:\u00a0info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>. Follow Florida Phoenix on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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