US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on 3 September warned American communities that blocking the construction of artificial intelligence data centres would cost them investment, jobs, and tax revenue — dismissing opposition to such projects as misinformation driven by foreign adversaries. Lutnick made the remarks at a press conference following the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

What Triggered the Warning

The remarks followed a reporter's observation that Orange County — the very county hosting the G20 ministerial — had imposed a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centre construction. Lutnick responded directly, framing the decision as a self-inflicted economic setback.

'I think your point, you touched it, which is it's misinformation,' Lutnick said. 'And by setting a moratorium on data centres, that means the next set of opportunity just won't go to you.'

What Lutnick Said About Economic Benefits

The Commerce Secretary argued that AI data centres would serve as economic anchors for host communities, contributing to local tax bases and bringing down — not raising — the cost of electricity. He said companies building these facilities would develop their own power supplies independently of local grids.

'They're not going to raise the cost of power in that community,' he said. 'They're going to bring down the cost of power in that community.'

He also framed the infrastructure in broader terms, describing frontier AI models as delivering 'the world's knowledge in a bottle to each economy, right? And to each community and to each neighbourhood.'

Adversaries and Misinformation Claims

Lutnick went further, attributing community resistance to deliberate interference by unnamed foreign adversaries. 'These data centres, they're just getting a bad rap because our adversaries are trying to slow us down,' he said. The claim was made without citing specific evidence, and critics have separately raised legitimate concerns about water usage, energy demand, and grid pressure from large-scale AI infrastructure.

He urged technology companies to proactively communicate with residents, repeating the message that data centres would be 'an incredible partner in the tax base of that vicinity.'

The Broader AI Infrastructure Push

AI infrastructure was a central theme at the G20 Innovation Ministerial. Lutnick said US companies were committing hundreds of billions of dollars to semiconductors, supercomputers, and data centres. The rapid expansion of generative AI has sharply increased demand for computing capacity and electricity, driving a global race to build large-scale facilities capable of training and running increasingly powerful models.

Communities that reject such projects, Lutnick predicted, would come to regret it. 'You will see a year from today, two years from today, and five years from today, when we look back at those people who said, 'Don't build it here,' they will feel silly, and they will be less economically,' he said.

How local governments across the US respond to the administration's pressure — and whether the promised economic benefits materialise without the feared utility and resource costs — will shape the political landscape around AI infrastructure for years ahead.