Data center construction, once a sleepy topic that few cared about, has moved to center stage in local politics. Across the United States, more than $64 billion in data center projects have been blocked or delayed amid rising community opposition. Even as people embrace technology more than ever—creating the need for more data centers—residents organize around concerns about noise, water, and the strain on power grids.
Research by Data Center Watch underscores the breadth of the resistance. Over the past two years, roughly $18 billion in projects were canceled outright and another $46 billion delayed as opposition spread across two dozen states. Researchers tracking these fights count 142 local advocacy groups focused on slowing development.
The Only Bipartisan Issue in America
If you’re dismayed about how divided Americans are about today’s issues, be reassured that there’s an issue that unites people: no one wants a data center near them. About 55% of public officials opposing data facilities are Republicans, 45% Democrats.
The environmental critiques are familiar—water use, diesel generators, round-the-clock cooling—but delays rarely hinge on a single issue. Local pushback against data centers involves a mix of factors, from utility readiness and grid upgrades to zoning, tax incentives, and housing market concerns.
Nowhere is the tension clearer than in Virginia, the world’s largest concentration of data centers. The state hosts nearly 600 facilities, including roughly 150 hyperscale sites, with plans for dozens more. With AI demand lifting power budgets, Dominion Energy is contracted to add about 40 gigawatts of capacity—nearly triple the state’s current maximum output.
That increase alarms neighborhood groups that live beside industrial campuses. In Chesapeake this summer, residents packed city hall to warn about nonstop noise and constant construction traffic. The council voted unanimously to block a planned facility.
Data center developers have learned that rezoning hearings have become an uphill battle. In Arizona, a $14 billion campus was withdrawn after a rezoning push met stiff organized resistance, though the developer later resurfaced at a different site with broader support.
In Peculiar, Missouri, a grassroots group persuaded officials to amend the zoning code to exclude data centers entirely from the jurisdiction. “Big tech is preying on small communities,” residents complained.
Massive Tech Growth Requires Big Buildout
Underneath the local pushback sits a larger economic contradiction: AI usage is soaring, which means the compute to support it must grow. Yet the physical manifestation of that growth—rows of hulking buildings, backup generators, and substation tie-ins—often collides with established communities and stressed grids.
The longtime sales pitch that “tech equals local prosperity” no longer sells itself. Increasingly, councils want proof that promised jobs and tax receipts outweigh daily impacts. Even if that can be demonstrated, many residents point to quality of life issues that override economic concerns.
The future of data center development appears to be less about an industry halted than an industry rerouted. Analysts note that a majority of contested projects are delayed rather than killed. Many eventually proceed with modifications or shift to friendlier tracts of land.
Changing Power Dynamic
Data center push back is clearly growing. Each delay adds expensive months to delivery schedules at a moment when enterprises are racing to deploy AI. Adding tension to the conflict: even as residents learn more blocking tactics, data center developers are learning that success now requires mapping the regulatory risks as carefully as they map the fiber network
For the foreseeable future, expect more moratoriums, more new ordinances, and more meetings in church halls filled with angry discussions. In the long term, the buildout continues, but on communities’ terms, not just the industry’s.
