Join Midwest BDC’s monthly Policy Power Hour
—a dynamic, one-hour session where coalition members unpack the latest legislative updates, regulatory shifts, and advocacy opportunities across the Midwest.
This Month’s topic:
Why Is Clean Air Political? Who Can Make It Cleaner?
Data Centers, Rising Utility Rates & Community Health Who Pays for the AI Energy Boom?
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data‑center growth are driving a surge in electricity demand across the Midwest — with direct impacts on air quality, household utility bills, and community health. This Policy Power Hour explains why clean air is political, who has the authority to protect it, and how data‑center expansion shapes the decisions utilities make.
We’ll connect the dots between rising energy demand, new infrastructure costs, and ratepayer impacts. We’ll also examine the increasing use of on‑site natural gas generation at data centers and what it means for emissions, permitting, and local air pollution.
Participants will learn:
How data centers drive new energy infrastructure
Why utility planning decisions affect household bills
How on‑site gas generation impacts air quality and public health
Who controls clean‑air decisions — and how communities can intervene
Why clean air is political, and what levers exist to make it cleaner