LINCOLN, NE – Governor Jim Pillen will be joined on Monday by agency leaders and lawmakers, as he signs an executive order to end taxpayer subsidies of large-scale data centers in Nebraska. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT in the Governor’s hearing room.
That order will suspend the award of tax incentives by the state and will stipulate the creation of a task force to propose additional safeguards of the state’s natural resources from data center use.
Gov. Pillen was one of the first governors in the nation to sound the alarm of the consequences of massive data center build out. In 2024, legislation was introduced on his behalf to stop incentivizing the building of data centers in Nebraska.
“Nebraska is appealing because of its available land, low electrical rates and abundant water, but we’ve also provided them with tax incentives to locate here, which means they are making a lot of money at same time,” said Gov. Pillen. “We need to take a look at our process to make sure we’re taking all steps necessary to protect our state’s resources as well as our taxpayers.”
This announcement comes on the heels of legislation brought on the Governor’s behalf and signed into law preventing data centers from depending on power built and funded by Nebraska rate payers.
The news conference will be streamed live at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/live
