There is a moment in any significant shift, whether technological, economic or environmental, when we begin to ask questions out loud, together. That moment happened May 1 at the Tennessee Aquarium, when more than 150 community leaders, planners, elected officials, business owners and conservationists gathered for Thrive Regional Partnership’s spring forum, focused on thoughtfully preparing communities for energy and AI.
Attendees joined a regional conversation about the rapid expansion of energy infrastructure and artificial intelligence, and what it means for the places we call home.
Nobody in that room had all the answers. That was the point.
Across the country, data centers, the physical infrastructure that powers advanced technology like AI, are being built at a pace that outruns most communities’ ability to understand and respond to the impacts.
These facilities aren’t traditional economic development projects. They require considerable amounts of land, water and power. They bring jobs and tax revenue. They bring new demands on local infrastructure, new questions about land use and new pressure on utilities navigating a rapidly changing energy landscape.