In the last two weeks, there has been an important shift in the messaging surrounding the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, the proposed 70-mile power line that would run through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties. The first time we saw this shift in writing was in the letter sent Sept. 27 from PSEG, the developer contracted by regional electric supplier PJM to build the power line, to Maryland lawmakers.

Before this letter, PSEG’s justification for the proposed MPRP was the deactivation of 11,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation across PJM’s grid and the 7,500 MW growth in energy demand due to data centers in Maryland and Virginia.

But in PSEG’s latest letter, the developer has turned to threats to advocate for the project, saying “there will be rolling brownouts and blackouts if this project is not placed in service by June of 2027.”

This is a not-so-subtle red herring created to scare the public at large, provide cover for elected officials and put a target on the landowners who want to protect their land, farms, homes and businesses from devastation.

This is an unacceptable scare tactic. The real choice is not between new high-voltage transmission lines or brownouts and blackouts. The real choice is between adhering to the timeline for moving to clean energy or building data centers.

The federal government is moving our nation toward a clean energy future through a series of executive orders and legislation. To be clear, our organization challenging the MPRP is not fighting, opposing or questioning the clean energy transformation. We do, however, believe that the destruction of forests, farms, businesses, homes and our environment is an unacceptable price to pay to meet clean energy objectives.

Many of the federal government’s clean energy initiatives were set in 2021 and 2022 through legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Some states, Maryland included, have followed suit in driving this important transition to clean energy. But the ecosystem has changed.

In November 2022, artificial intelligence company OpenAI released its first version of ChatGPT, and the AI race exploded, causing a frenetic pace of data center development. According to a technology report released by consulting firm Bain & Company last month, the “market for AI products and services could reach between $780 billion and $990 billion by 2027.”

There is huge money in AI, and AI needs data centers. Goldman Sachs Research estimates that “data centers will use 8% of U.S. power by 2030, compared with 3% in 2022.” Because we don’t have a better way to power data centers at the moment, those data centers rely on the existing energy generation, transmission and distribution system.

AI companies can afford to pay for their own power without relying on public energy resources. Instead, with the proposed MPRP and other transmission line projects across the nation, the public is paying in the form of higher energy prices and eminent domain for these tech companies to connect to public energy grids.

We must push the stop button now. We can either stop building data centers until we can implement solutions to ensure data centers don’t cause blackouts or brownouts, or stop ignoring the reality that current clean energy timelines are incongruent with the new energy demand created by AI and data centers.

What we cannot afford to do, today or tomorrow, is destroy our homes, businesses, environment and farmland for the sake of high-voltage transmission to power AI. We need our elected officials, at all levels of government, to have the courage to acknowledge the ecosystem has changed and that we must adjust our policies and plans accordingly. We know tough decisions must be made, and we know our elected officials are considering options. The time to act is now.

Rational policies and plans start with comprehensive, integrated resource planning in Maryland and beyond. These plans must start with a focused effort on optimizing the existing transmission and distribution grids, implementing advanced grid solutions and fast-tracking new generation to utilize the existing, optimized infrastructure and transmission system.

In the meantime, don’t put your hook in the red herring. The choice is not between losing our property or losing our power. The choice is between what is right for the people and our environment or what is right for big energy and big tech.

Joanne Frederick is a cofounder and board president of Stop MPRP, a nonprofit opposed to the construction of the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliablity Project power line. She resides on a farm in Baltimore County.