The Brief Florida cities are considering restrictions on new data centers over concerns about water use, electricity demand and noise. A new state law requires data centers to cover utility costs and notify communities before construction, while leaving final approval to local governments. As demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing grows, large-scale data centers are becoming the focus of a statewide debate over their impact on water, electricity and surrounding communities. Data centers house the computer servers that power websites, mobile apps and artificial intelligence systems. More than 100 data centers already operate in Florida, including several in the Orlando area.