Infrastructure & City Planning Weekly AI News
October 6 - October 14, 2025This weekly update brings important news about how AI technology is changing cities and infrastructure around the world.
In Lansing, New York, a company called TeraWulf held a town meeting on October 7 to talk about building a new AI data center. The company wants to use land where an old power plant used to be. They say the center will bring 100 permanent jobs and help lower property taxes for people who live there. The data center will need a lot of electricity to run AI computers. TeraWulf promises it will use clean energy and not make electric bills go up for local families.
Many people in Lansing have questions and worries. Some wonder if the company will keep its promises. Others worry about water use and environmental impacts. The company says they will bring in water from other places if needed. A librarian at Cornell University asked people to think about whether AI is good for learning and the environment.
Across North America, many new AI data centers are being built. In Kansas City, Missouri, developers announced plans for a huge data center campus worth $100 billion. Companies like Nvidia and OpenAI are spending billions to build AI infrastructure. These projects need enormous amounts of electricity - as much as a small city.
The power problem is big. Building new power lines and substations normally takes 5 to 10 years, but AI companies want power right away. Some are buying their own power plants or making deals with nuclear power stations. Cities and towns are learning they need to plan carefully when AI companies want to build data centers in their communities.