In a Rare Statewide Debate, Alabama Candidates Spar Over Data Centers, Utility Rates
Fourteen years between statewide debates says a lot about Alabama politics, but the fact that data centers and utility rates finally forced one is the real story. State Rep. Phillip Ensler and his opponents went at it in Huntsville over who should foot the bill for the massive power draw of server farms, and that is exactly the fight we need to be having. Data centers are arriving across the Southeast faster than the grid can handle, and the cost of all that new electricity is never abstract. It lands on ratepayers.
I want to know what the candidates actually proposed, because "sparring" can mean a lot of things. Are they pushing utilities to absorb the cost, or asking taxpayers to subsidize the buildout? In a state where coal and gas still carry the load, more demand usually means more emissions, and that tension rarely gets aired on a debate stage. The fact that it did, even briefly, is a small step.
The energy transition is going to be decided in places like Alabama, not just in coastal capitals. When the second-highest office in the state is arguing about who pays for the grid, that is the climate story. I would just like to know where each candidate landed.