DeSantis Pushes Back On Florida Mega AI Data Center

The Fort Meade city commission in Polk County advanced an agreement to site what would be Florida's first hyperscale data center, backed by a company set up by developer Stonebridge. Florida Department of Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly sent an excoriating letter to Fort Meade's mayor calling the planning process "fundamentally flawed," citing missing approvals and protections for residential ratepayers. The commission voted unanimously after about three hours of public comment, where residents raised environmental, fiscal, and quality-of-life concerns.

The project is framed as a hyperscale AI data center, which implies very large power draws and heavy cooling demands. Regulators and advocates are focused on three technical stress points: rate structures that allocate utility costs, water use for cooling, and local grid capacity. The administration flagged the lack of a Florida Public Service Commission-approved rate mechanism that would prevent residential customers and small businesses from subsidizing the center's energy needs. Public reporting on similar projects cites cooling water use ranges such as 110 million gallons per year for medium centers and up to 1.8 billion gallons per year for large facilities, figures that drive local scrutiny.

• •Potential for residential electricity bill increases and unclear cost-allocation
• •High water consumption and impacts to local water supplies
• •Noise, diesel backup generation, and loss of rural character
• •Project secrecy and late-stage community engagement
• •Stress on transmission and distribution infrastructure

This incident is not isolated. The Fort Meade fight echoes Florida's earlier "Project Tango" opposition and broader 2026 trends where governors and state legislatures are rethinking incentives and siting practices for data centers. Governor Ron DeSantis has been openly skeptical of large AI projects and has proposed regulatory measures around AI governance, aligning state executive pressure with environmental and local advocates. Elsewhere, states like Arizona are reevaluating data center tax incentives, signaling a policy shift from attraction to stricter siting controls and fiscal scrutiny.

For infrastructure planners, cloud operators, and ML platforms that depend on hyperscale capacity, this is a signal that permitting risk is rising and social license is becoming a material variable. Expect longer siting timelines, more rigorous utility negotiations, conditional rate approvals, and greater community engagement requirements. Financing and total cost of ownership models must incorporate the risk of moratoria, added mitigation costs, and potential regulatory changes to incentives.

The critical next steps are whether the Florida Public Service Commission issues a formal objection or conditional approval of any rate structure, how Stonebridge or affiliated developers respond publicly, and whether state lawmakers codify stricter siting standards. If DeSantis' administration pushes for binding rules, other states may mirror the approach, reshaping the feasible geography for future AI infrastructure projects.