The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is generating a parallel surge in data center construction, and with it comes an increasingly common legal question: when can power companies use eminent domain to seize private land for infrastructure serving those facilities? The issue has emerged as a flashpoint in communities across the country where transmission lines needed to power massive server farms must cross property owned by unwilling sellers.
There are more than 3,000 data centers operating in the U.S. today, with another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis cited by The Conversation. These facilities, which process text, images and code for large language models such as ChatGPT, consume enormous amounts of electricity and water. In 2024 alone, data centers accounted for more than 4% of the nation's total electricity consumption, a figure expected to rise as demand grows.
Eminent domain—the government's constitutional power to seize private property without consent for public use, provided just compensation is paid—is governed by the Fifth Amendment's takings clause. While governments typically initiate condemnation actions, they can delegate this authority to utility companies and other common carriers in many states. Power companies often pursue easements across private land for transmission lines; when landowners refuse to sell, some utilities have turned to eminent domain.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives and Republican officials have largely emphasized the economic and national security imperatives driving AI development, arguing that data center infrastructure is essential to American competitiveness. President Donald Trump has promoted AI advancement as crucial to economic and national security interests.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota has noted that expanding power grid capacity serves broader public interests beyond just data centers, including supporting economic growth and ensuring reliable electricity for residential and commercial customers statewide. The National Association of Manufacturers has argued that permitting eminent domain for transmission infrastructure helps ensure energy reliability that benefits all utility consumers.
Some Republican legislators have also pointed to the practical reality that modern computing infrastructure requires substantial power inputs, making transmission line expansion unavoidable if the U.S. intends to remain competitive in AI development against nations like China. The Heritage Foundation has published analyses arguing that reasonable eminent domain use for grid improvement serves legitimate government interests.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates and Democratic lawmakers have largely framed data center opposition through the lens of community empowerment and environmental justice. Polling cited by PBS indicates that 7 in 10 Americans oppose construction of AI data centers in their own communities, citing concerns about higher utility bills, pollution, noise and loss of green space.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has raised concerns about the outsized influence tech corporations wield in shaping infrastructure decisions that affect everyday Americans. Environmental groups including the Sierra Club have highlighted how data center expansion concentrates industrial activity in historically marginalized neighborhoods while straining local resources.
Civil liberties organizations have warned that allowing private companies to benefit from eminent domain seizures sets a troubling precedent, potentially opening the door to further corporate overreach into private property rights. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the public use requirement must be interpreted strictly to prevent wealthy corporations from using government power for their own financial gain.
What the Numbers Show
The scale of data center growth is significant: more than 3,000 facilities currently operate nationwide, with another 1,500 under development, according to Pew Research Center analysis. These facilities consumed over 4% of total U.S. electricity in 2024, a figure energy analysts project will climb substantially as more centers come online.
The landmark 2005 Supreme Court decision Kelo v. City of New London expanded the definition of public use to include economic development, allowing condemnation for private redevelopment projects. In response, 45 states subsequently enacted eminent domain reform laws restricting such seizures. However, courts have generally continued to permit utilities—including power companies—to exercise eminent domain for transmission infrastructure.
State supreme courts have reached differing conclusions on transmission line seizures. South Dakota and Vermont high courts have upheld condemnations by power companies, finding that providing energy access and grid reliability to in-state customers constitutes valid public use. Conversely, the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected a condemnation action in 1984 because the proposed transmission line would have run from Mississippi into Louisiana without benefiting any Mississippi customers.
The Bottom Line
The intersection of AI infrastructure demand and property rights is generating legal disputes that will likely intensify as data center construction continues. Courts have generally been receptive to eminent domain claims when utilities can demonstrate tangible benefits to in-state electricity consumers, but landowners retain grounds for challenge when transmission lines primarily serve out-of-state facilities or private commercial customers.
Property owners facing condemnation actions should be aware that state constitutional protections may offer stronger protections than federal precedent, as Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma have prohibited seizures purely for economic development under their own constitutions. Legal scholars anticipate continued litigation as communities grapple with the balance between technological advancement and property rights protection.