Data center construction is booming nationwide, but the AI buildout is separating the friendliest states from the most resistant, with Texas and Maine on opposite ends. Why it matters: Americans are bracing for what trillions of dollars in AI infrastructure investment will mean for them. Here's how two key states are encouraging — and slowing — the buildout. It's no wonder that Texas, with its low electricity prices and abundance of land, is drawing a wave of data center investment. Texas has 212 operating data centers as of 2024 and 651 have been announced, according to data firm Aterio . Another 157 are under construction, beating Virginia . The state also offers one of the most generous tax incentives in the nation, worth more than $1 billion annually. Some state legislators are rethinking whether that tax break is appropriate, but Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) said at a recent Axios event in Dallas that the incentives keep projects and jobs in the U.S.…