Blackstone addresses data center pushback with workforce and environmental measures as U.S. communities resist AI expansion.
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman outlined efforts to mitigate societal and environmental concerns tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centers. The firm is investing tens of billions in compute capacity but faces growing resistance from communities, with only 14% supporting local data center construction in a recent poll.
Blackstone’s portfolio companies, such as QTS, are implementing union jobs, workforce training, and water-free cooling systems to ease opposition. QTS recently scrapped a Virginia project after years of planning, underscoring the challenges. Schwarzman compared AI’s impact to the industrial revolution but acknowledged public anxiety over its rapid evolution.
The firm’s strategy includes expanded power generation and local economic investments to balance AI growth with community concerns. Data centers, critical for AI development, remain a contentious issue across political divides in the U.S.