A wave of public and political opposition has stalled at least 48 data center projects across the U.S., jeopardizing an estimated $156 billion in investments and threatening the physical rollout of AI infrastructure.
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Public Backlash Halts 48 US Data Center Projects
A growing rebellion against the physical infrastructure of artificial intelligence is gaining steam across the U.S., as local communities push back against the development of massive data centers. Local opposition blocked or delayed at least 48 data-center projects valued at some $156 billion last year, with a record 20 more canceled in the first quarter of 2026 due to community backlash, according to data from Heatmap and Data Center Watch.
"People just feel like they’re under siege," Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), who has proposed bills to impose new requirements on data centers and AI companies, said in an interview. The opposition has become a potent political force, swaying local elections and creating an acute crisis for an AI industry that requires ever-larger quantities of computing power.
The wave of anger has spurred protests and, in some cases, violence. In Indianapolis, Councilman Ron Gibson found a note saying “NO DATA CENTERS” under his doormat after someone fired 13 shots at his front door, days after he had approved a new facility. The number of Americans in Facebook groups opposed to data centers has quadrupled to 360,000 since December, showing the rapid intensification of negative public sentiment.
For investors who have staked tens of billions on AI's continued growth, the community-level opposition presents a significant and unpredictable risk. Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic depend on a massive expansion of data center capacity, but the backlash now threatens to slow development, increase costs, and complicate the path to profitability.
Energy and Water Use Fuels Local Anger
The core of the opposition stems from concerns over data centers' immense consumption of power and water, which residents blame for rising utility bills and environmental strain. While data centers use about 4 percent of total U.S. energy, their concentrated demand in specific localities is reshaping state-level energy policy. In Georgia, regulators approved a new rule allowing Georgia Power to charge large data centers higher, non-standard electricity rates to protect residential customers from cost-shifting. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio issued a similar decision, requiring data centers to pay for 85 percent of the energy they are subscribed to use, regardless of actual consumption.
Water usage is another major flashpoint. According to public sources, U.S. data centers consumed around 17 billion gallons of water in 2023. While this is a fraction of the 500 billion gallons used by golf courses annually, the impact is felt acutely at the local level, leading states like Illinois and California to propose new environmental regulations specifically targeting data center water and energy use. In Marshall, Indiana, residents voted to permanently ban data centers in the county, a move mirrored by communities from Maine to Arizona.
Bipartisan Opposition Scrambles Political Lines
The pushback against data centers is a rare issue uniting voters across the political spectrum. Recent polling shows 62 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Democrats, and 73 percent of Independents believe the costs of data centers outweigh their benefits. This sentiment is translating into direct political action. In Festus, Missouri, voters ousted four incumbent city council members after they approved a $6 billion data center project.
The issue is scrambling traditional partisan lines, with figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introducing the AI Data Center Moratorium Act at the national level. In Memphis, Tennessee, Democratic congressional candidate Justin Pearson has found common ground with Republican voters in his opposition to Elon Musk’s xAI data center, which the NAACP is suing for allegedly operating gas turbines without a valid air permit. Even former President Donald Trump has weighed in, stating that data centers “need some PR help.” This bipartisan consensus presents a formidable challenge to the tech industry's narrative of inevitable expansion.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] The American Rebellion Against AI Is Gaining Steam - WSJ[2] Town votes out every council member who approved a $6 billion AI data center[3] Data Center Boom Tested by Permitting Hurdles, Political Tension[4] The People Have Spoken — And They Said They Hate Data Centers[5] Heat network costs in an evolving environment: politics, legislation and design
