When can a power company take your land for data center infrastructure?
The rapid expansion of AI data centers is driving a surge in demand for electricity, leading power companies to seek land for new transmission lines. This has sparked legal debates over whether companies can use eminent domain to seize private property for infrastructure that primarily benefits private AI development.
Why it matters
As AI infrastructure needs grow, the tension between private property rights and the public utility requirements of the AI boom is becoming a significant legal and political flashpoint.
Meeting data center power demands will mean building more transmission lines and acquiring more land to put them on. These lines are in California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images When can a power company take your land for data center infrastructure? Published: July 16, 2026 8:19am EDT https://theconversation.com/when-can-a-power-company-take-your-land-for-data-center-infrastructure-284061 https://theconversation.com/when-can-a-power-company-take-your-land-for-data-center-infrastructure-284061 Link copied Share article Share article
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The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
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