A July 16 report by Aaron Walayat, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Dayton, claims that power companies can use eminent domain to acquire private land for new transmission lines needed by data centers. This legal authority allows governments to take private property for public use with compensation, and can be delegated to utility companies. Opponents successfully blocked 75 planned data center projects in Q1 2026, including the 2,100-acre Digital Gateway project.
Eminent domain provides a legal pathway for power infrastructure expansion, but public opposition and legal challenges continue to delay AI data center grid connections.