Semafor
· collected 2026-09-12 · by J.D. Capelouto
Onsemi’s CEO Hassane El-Khoury argues that instead of banning AI data centers, communities should require providers to disclose how much energy these facilities waste. During a tour in East Fishkill, New York, El-Khoury criticized moratoriums like the one in place in his state and suggested policymakers focus on specific issues rather than outright bans. He proposes transparency standards for reporting raw energy consumption and efficiency metrics, noting that Onsemi’s fastest-growing business is AI data centers, with revenue expected to more than double this year despite opposition.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The CEO of chipmaker Onsemi, Hassane El-Khoury, argues that AI data center providers should report their energy waste rather than face blanket bans. During a tour at Onsemi’s facility in East Fishkill, New York, El-Khoury criticized New York's moratorium on new data centers, calling it short-sighted and a result of insufficient awareness about the issue. He advocates for addressing specific problems instead of outright rejection of AI infrastructure. Onsemi specializes in power chips that convert electricity more efficiently, reducing heat loss which otherwise necessitates additional water usage for cooling servers. El-Khoury believes that better reporting would help mitigate concerns over local grid strain and increased residential electricity costs.
Written for “Data Center Energy Waste” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.35 for article 8330 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-12
The News
Communities and governments should demand AI data center providers report how much energy they are wasting, rather than put blanket bans on the facilities, the CEO of chipmaker Onsemi told Semafor.
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CEO → demand → Semafor
Data center moratoriums like the one enacted in New York are “short-sighted,” Hassane El-Khoury said during a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility in East Fishkill, New York.
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Khoury → enact → Fishkill
Instead, he said, policymakers and critics should identify specific problems they want to address, rather than shun the AI infrastructure buildout as a whole.
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they → say → whole
“A lot of the pushback is coming from a lack of awareness of what the subject matter is and the problem at stake,” El-Khoury said.
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Khoury → come → stake
Onsemi makes power chips, which convert energy surging through data centers, cars, and factories.
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which → make → centers
They essentially act as hyper-fast electrical switches that shrink grid-level power down to the tiny voltage that chips run on.
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chips → act → that
More efficient power conversion reduces the amount of electricity that data centers would otherwise lose as heat, which requires more water to cool servers.
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which → reduce → servers
Pushback against data centers has swelled in part because of concerns that they will strain local grids and raise residents’ electricity bills, and drain local water supplies.
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they → swell → supplies
El-Khoury said the company is talking to federal and state lawmakers — starting in Arizona, where Onsemi is based — to discuss energy transparency standards for reporting how much raw energy a data center is consuming and how efficiently it’s using that power.
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it → say → power
For example, if a hyperscaler announces a 1-gigawatt facility, that number typically refers only to how much electricity the facility is designed to consume.
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facility → announce → electricity
A more useful standard, Onsemi argues, would measure how much AI compute it can generate, compared with the amount of power it draws from the grid.
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it → argue → grid
He said public opposition — including the moratorium in New York, where Onsemi’s most advanced facility is located — isn’t slowing down demand for data centers.
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facility → say → centers
“On an earnings call last month, the company, which has a nearly $28 billion market cap, said AI data centers are its fastest-growing business, with revenue expected to more than double this year.
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revenue → have → cap
“I’m not saying you should accept the AI data center right in your backyard,” he said, but “I think any community needs to take a step back and say, ‘Why are we pushing back?’”
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we → say → step
The world is also facing a shortage of power chips, but it doesn’t fully realize it yet, El-Khoury said.
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Khoury → face → it
The need for power chips is “masked” by the ongoing shortages facing memory and compute chips, but once the industry clears those bottlenecks, he warned, people will “wake up” to the fact that challenges surrounding power are “really going to end up hitting the wall…
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challenges → mask → wall
Everything needs more and more power.”
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Everything → need → power
Notable
- Much of the community-level pushback to data centers stems not only from energy concerns, but from mistrust of large corporations and a fear that small towns will get a bad deal, journalist Jasmine Sun wrote last month.
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Sun → stem → deal
