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Ross Perot Jr. Issues Warning on Sites for Data Centers
Newser • • business
Key Points:
- Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Hillwood, highlights a severe shortage of large warehouses suitable for AI data centers in the US, with only 15 to 20 empty facilities of over 1 million square feet remaining, down from about 50 typically available.
- In North Texas, home to Hillwood's AllianceTexas Data Center Campus, there is reportedly only one such warehouse available, underscoring the regional scarcity.
- A JLL report confirms the tight market, showing vacancy rates for mega Class A data center facilities dropped to 5.4% in Q3 from 9.5% the previous year, despite 317 million square feet currently under construction.
- The data center industry is booming, with annual building expenditures around $85 billion, but political opposition due to environmental concerns is rising, reminiscent of past fracking debates.
- Perot urges cities to consider the significant tax revenue benefits of data centers and advocates for community involvement to ensure projects are managed responsibly.
