Towns Stalled $198B of Big Tech's AI Data Centers

Local opposition blocked or delayed about $68B of US data center projects in Q2 2026 alone, and almost $200B in the first half of 2026, according to Data Center Watch. Then Texas paused data center permits. Here's the bet: the backlash doesn't kill the demand for power, it changes who gets paid for it. We cover why towns say no, ERCOT and PJM, transformers, who pays the bill, who gets paid behind the fence, and a bull and bear case to 2035. Chapters 0:00 $198B of data centers blocked or delayed 1:00 Why are towns saying no? 2:18 Is the grid really full? 3:29 Who pays the bill? 4:23 Who gets paid behind the fence? 6:16 The bull case 7:07 What could break the bet? 8:21 2035: the bet Next: our episode on AI's power bill and Constellation:    • AI's Power Bill: Who Pays, and Who Gets Paid?   Related on Bet The Decade: AEP Short:    • AI's Real Bottleneck Is the Grid   GE Vernova Short:    • Why GE Vernova's Orders Just Doubled   Vertiv Short:    • AI Isn't Just Chips — It's Power and Cooling   TeraWulf:    • TeraWulf Isn't a Neocloud — It's the AI Po...   Sources (in order) 1. Data Center Watch Q2 2026: https://www.datacenterwatch.org/q2-2026 2. Bisnow: backlash upends billions: https://www.bisnow.com/news/national/... 3. Data Center Watch Q1 2026: https://www.datacenterwatch.org/q1-2026 4. Texas Governor: TCEQ directive: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/gover... 5. Texas Tribune: data center pause: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/... 6. Montgomery County: moratorium: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ne... 7. NBC4 Washington: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo... 8. Dane County: https://www.danecounty.gov/PressDetai... 9. Santa Fe County: https://www.santafecountynm.gov/news/... 10. Loudoun County agenda: https://pub-loudoun.escribemeetings.c... 11. TCEQ response letter: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/... 12. ERCOT Batch Zero update: https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2026... 13. mgrid: ERCOT kept 362 loads: https://mgrid.org/2026/09/28/ercot-ke... 14. PJM 2028/29 auction release: https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/ab... 15. Utility Dive: PJM shortfall: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-... 16. Wood Mackenzie: transformer shortage: https://www.woodmac.com/press-release... 17. Utility Dive: lead times: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-... 18. BLS CPI September 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.... 19. AEP Q3 2026: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea... 20. Vistra and Meta: https://investor.vistracorp.com/2026-... 21. GE Vernova Q3 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... 22. Caterpillar Q3 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... 23. Bloom Energy Q3 2026: https://investor.bloomenergy.com/pres... 24. CNBC: Microsoft capex: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/29/micro... 25. Business Insider: Microsoft $170B: https://www.businessinsider.com/micro... Photos: Wikimedia Commons. Data centers in Ashburn by Theodore Christopher (CC0); Substation power transformer by Yoshieslunchbox (CC BY-SA 4.0); Perry Nuclear Plant by Cards84664 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Gas turbine power plant by Pro-Per Energy Services (CC BY-SA 4.0); Caterpillar G399 genset by StcudorPrewoP (CC BY-SA 3.0); Bloom Energy Servers by Bloom Energy (CC BY 2.0). Illustrative photos; diagrams not to scale. This episode uses no AI-generated images. Quotes shown as on-screen text. Narration is a synthetic voice. Not financial advice. Education and analysis only, no price targets. Do your own research. #DataCenters #PowerGrid #ERCOT #BetTheDecade