Well said. A large data center might make $20B revenue per year. A 2-year delay for local community hearings and permitting will therefore be a $40B cost of delay, not to mention the downstream costs resulting from that delay. Serious money.
Kyle Cothern @risknc
Nov 6
I think a ton of people are getting caught up on the unit costs and engineering that makes these viable and are missing the core reason why everyone's band wagoning here. Deploying energy intensive hardware en masse in a heavily regulated environment is too slow.

Nov 6, 2025 · 2:06 AM UTC

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Replying to @DrPhiltill
Well at 20b a year these datacenters should foot the bill for water and electricity for the communities they are built in, rather than cause these costs to skyrocket for consumers and profit from it. Affordable necessities such as water and electricity are paramount over AI generated bait videos.
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I agree, and I think that’s exactly why they will go to space. The public will demand these changes.
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
If data centers are so awesome and amazing and good for the economy why does my electric bill have to double to subsidize them?
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This is an example of why they will go to space.
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
A lot of people who are skeptical about in-space data centers have overlooked a major factor that drives people like Elon, Jeff, and others to consider space based data centers: NIMBYism. The Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) mentality has what ended or severely modified many projects that were on the planning boards. We're already seeing the pushback whenever data centers are announced and their locations revealed. The upset neighborhoods, nuisance lawsuits by ambulance chasing lawyers, and the professional protesters will push companies to go orbital. I think it's a plus to have space based data centers as it will be one of the first segments of the orbital economy that @rookisaacman wrote about recently.
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🎯 I haven’t seen what @rookisaacman wrote on it but I want to. Where can I find it? (Searching now.)
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
Yep, that is how they killed nuclear energy, by years of lawfare that drove up the costs, then the environmentalists argue it’s too expensive.
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
We just need one zone without any redtape. Make it military law bound so it isn't lawless. Then the productivity improvements would be undeniable.
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
add nukes to the projects and watch that timeline triple
Replying to @DrPhiltill
Replying to @DrPhiltill
If data centers are raking in so much, why are we subsidizing their energy costs?
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
You are exaggerating quite a bit
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Replying to @DrPhiltill
Remember Microsoft signed with Helion to have nuclear fusion by 2028. They have no clue.
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