OpenAI Puts Stargate UK on Ice — Blames Energy Costs and Regulatory Red Tape

Hacker News·medium signal

OpenAI has paused its planned Stargate data center expansion in the UK, citing prohibitively high energy costs and regulatory hurdles, per The Register. The move comes just weeks after Maine passed the first state-level data center moratorium in the US. The pattern suggests AI infrastructure buildout is hitting simultaneous headwinds across multiple jurisdictions — energy costs, grid capacity, and growing political resistance to hyperscale facilities.