Lee signs onto Trump data center cost protection pledge as local communities push for regulation

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a voluntary Trump administration pledge committing data centre operators to cover their own infrastructure and power costs, as local communities push for binding regulation and stricter environmental oversight. The pledge has limited teeth—only 9% of voters knew about it, and 61% want Congress to make it binding law—while Tennessee's existing law allows data centres to self-power with minimal state or local oversight.

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