Data centers, in a capitalist economy, is an issue of property rights. So long as a data center (or for that matter farm) does not affect the property rights of other property owners (say by pollution) the proper policy is laissez-faire.
Data centers are where your email is stored, where your Amazon purchases are handled, and where the computers that the military uses to defend the US are located. The quantity and the quality of human life on Earth depends on them.
The energy issue is one of supply and demand. Until recently, the United States has more or less pursued an anti-energy economic policy (most notably with clean nuclear energy) which is the reason why energy prices rise as a supply cannot meet demand.
Farmland versus data centers is a false alternative. Politically, both can coexist in an objective rule of law system where the rights of the owners of both are equally respected.
Economically, the computer power from data centers will help increase the quantity and improve the quality of produce in the future.
Those modern-day anti-progress advocates of statism that propose to ban data centers should take the no data centers pledge—they have nothing to lose but the benefits of the internet in the 21st century.
For those who oppose Data Centers they should take the NO DATA CENTERS PLEDGE:
