142 protests erupt across 42 states as public opposition to AI data centers reaches tipping point

142 AI data center protests staged in 42 states as public opposition increases -- organizers brand 'unaccountable' buildouts as an 'unacceptable infringement on our liberty'

More than 70% of Americans now oppose data centers, which has resulted in bipartisan moves to block these projects. This pushback isn't limited to just a few people or towns, either. In fact, a coordinated protest was organized just this weekend, happening in 142 different venues across 42 states, and is the first one to happen simultaneously across the U.S. Forbes reports that this makes community consent scarcer than the chips and other equipment and resources needed to build and run these sites. As Reuters notes, the organisers behind the protests have branded the "unaccountable" data center buildout as an "unacceptable infringement on our liberty." Data centers have faced shortages of various kinds in the past few years -- it began with GPU supply, then evolved into a memory chip bottleneck. Alongside that, there's also the limited supply of electricity from the grid, as well as the related power infrastructure. But the one thing that many data center developers did not count on was the lack of public support. This resistance isn't limited to the streets, as bipartisan political moves have resulted in everything from delays in various projects to statewide bans. More than 69 jurisdictions have already imposed data center bans, with Seattle (home to the headquarters of AI tech giants Microsoft and Amazon) and the state of New York passing one-year moratoriums. Because of this, more than $130 billion worth of data centers have already been delayed in just the first quarter of 2026. Developers have employed various techniques to get around these bans and opposition. This includes picking sites in rural areas with fewer people (thus less resistance), bringing their own electricity, or claiming that their data centers use less water than lawn care and gardening. But despite all their promises of jobs, investment, and tax revenue, the American public has grown wary of suffering from the consequences of having a data center as a neighbor. This is especially true after reports of increased utility rates, water quality issues, noise pollution problems, and more have widely circulated around the country. Because of this, any data center project must take the community into account. It can no longer just rely on a friendly town council for approval, especially as the voting public has proven that they are willing to take steps to oust officials that they feel do not represent them. While many know that the U.S. needs data centers to compete in the AI race, they don't want this to happen at the expense of their quality of life. And while investors can just keep on pouring money into purchasing chips and upgrading infrastructure, they cannot just buy off the community -- instead, they need a solid plan that stands up to scrutiny and opposition and accounts for the months or even years it will take for permits to go through and get approved. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

US data center protests go national as backlash grows

July 18 (Reuters) - Opponents of the rapid buildout of data centers plan to hold protests on Saturday in at least 125 locations across the United States, the first coordinated national effort to channel anger at the AI infrastructure expansion that has ramped up over the past year and roiled local politics. The protests are coordinated by a grassroots group called HumansFirst, co-founded by a former leader of the modern-day Tea Party who has compared growing opposition to data centers to the right-wing populist movement that emerged in 2009 to protest what it saw as excessive taxation and government overreach. Protesters will rally against what HumansFirst calls the "unaccountable" buildout of data centers and "unacceptable infringement on our liberty." Towns and counties have been at the forefront of opposition to data center projects that in some cases have been greenlit with local officials signing non-disclosure agreements with ⁠developers despite resident pushback or a lack of regulatory scrutiny. Now politicians at the state and national level are scrambling to keep pace with rising voter anger over the threat of higher power bills, the diversion of precious water resources and pollution. Data center opposition is among the few issues uniting Americans across ideological lines, with just a third of Americans approving of the pace of data-center construction in the U.S., according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 14% of respondents would support a data center being built in their community to support artificial intelligence projects for technology firms such as Meta (META.O), opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Elon Musk's xAI. The Data Center Coalition, the industry's association and lobbying group, did not immediately comment on the protests. It previously told Reuters data centers are committed to being responsible neighbors in the communities where they operate. RED AND BLUE STATES REPRESENT Although HumansFirst co-founder Amy Kremer compared it to the conservative Tea Party movement's early days in 2009, she said the anger against data centers is nonpartisan. "They just woke up one ⁠day and found out they're going to have this monstrosity in their community, and they don't want it," said Kremer, who predicted data centers will be a defining issue in November's midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race. Kremer has criticized Republicans for giving Big Tech a "free pass," but she and some organizers also said they do not support policies like moratoriums on data center approvals adopted by the Democratic state of New York. Among other things, organizers said they want the development process to be transparent, resources and environmental health protected, community benefits such ⁠as the creation of well-paid union jobs and a way to hold developers accountable if they do not follow through on promises. Late on Friday, the Republican stronghold of Texas, a hotspot for data center development, was on track to have the most protests with 16. The battleground state of Georgia had 11, while Democratic California, Republican Florida and the swing state of Pennsylvania ⁠came in at 7 each. First-time activist and self-described "political nomad" Eva Cardona, 31, is organizing a protest in Texas. "I've been hearing about unregulated AI and the rapid growth was alarming me. I wanted to do something more hands-on than just your standard Facebook post," Hickman said. Left-leaning Ivan DelSol, 54, is helping lead a protest in the California ⁠desert's Imperial County, where a proposed data center project could use 260 million gallons of water per year from the Colorado River. "It's dystopian that you would use this much fresh water for AI," DelSol said. Although water is frequently cited as a top public concern, especially in water-stressed regions, the data center industry says its water use is not as significant as other industries. Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Retail & Consumer Valerie Volcovici Thomson Reuters Valerie Volcovici covers U.S. climate and energy policy from Washington, DC. She is focused on climate and environmental regulations at federal agencies and in Congress and how the energy transition is transforming the United States. Other areas of coverage include her award-winning reporting plastic pollution and the ins and outs of global climate diplomacy and United Nations climate negotiations. Lisa Baertlein Thomson Reuters Lisa Baertlein covers the movement of goods around the world, with emphasis on ocean transport and last-mile delivery. In her free time, you'll find her sailing, painting or exploring state and national parks.

Americans oppose AI data centres more than any building

A Redfin survey of 4,000 US residents finds data centres are less welcome than apartments, mixed-use blocks, or anything else it asked about. But in Loudoun County, the taxes they pay have nearly doubled school spending while homeowner rates fall. Americans want the AI boom. They just do not want it on their street. A new poll finds most US residents would rather not live near an AI data centre. Yet the same buildings quietly bankroll schools where they cluster. More than half of US residents, 53%, oppose building an AI data centre in their neighbourhood. That is according to a survey commissioned by Redfin and run by Ipsos in May. Around a third, 34%, support it. That makes data centres less welcome than any other structure Redfin asked about: 39% oppose a new apartment block, and 32% a mixed-use development. The resistance skews older. Roughly two-thirds of baby boomers, 65%, and 60% of Gen Xers oppose a nearby data centre, against 42% of Gen Zers and 43% of millennials. Why people push back The objections are practical and broad. Data centres strain power and water, raise noise, and drop large industrial buildings into residential areas. They also carry a wider dread about the technology. Nearly three in five residents, 58%, told Redfin they think AI will cut jobs and make homes harder to afford. That mood is already shaping policy. New York recently became the first US state to freeze new data centres, and grassroots opposition has spread across the country. The Virginia exception The numbers tell a more awkward story in the places that host the most data centres. Loudoun County in northern Virginia has 176 of them, more than twice any other US county. Neighbouring Prince William County ranks third nationally, with 77. Both tax the computer equipment inside those buildings, and the money has poured in. In Loudoun, that equipment is now the largest single source of personal-property tax revenue. Such revenue per resident has risen about 639% in Loudoun over 15 years. It rose 349% in Prince William, against just 91% in neighbouring Fairfax. Schools got the benefit. Education spending per resident climbed 77% in Loudoun, to $2,955, and 82% in Prince William, to $1,589. Teacher pay in Loudoun rose roughly 40%, to about $83,000, outpacing nearby Fairfax. Cheaper for homeowners, for now The windfall let officials cut what residents pay. Prince William trimmed its real-property tax rate from $1.12 per $100 of value in 2022 to $0.92 in 2025. Loudoun cut its rate too, though rising home values clawed some of that back. "That revenue can help fund growing budgets without putting the same pressure on residential real estate taxes," said Redfin economist Yingqi Xu. She warned it "doesn't automatically translate dollar-for-dollar to public spending," a real caveat. Redfin agent Matt Ferris said his clients care less about the tax gain than the disruption. The two findings sit uneasily together. The backlash is real, and spreading, yet the fiscal case is why some towns keep saying yes. Virginia has now added a statewide tax on the power these sites draw. Whether the trade holds, strain and noise for schools and lower bills, depends on where you live and how close you are.

Americans are angry about data centers. Politicians are feeling the pressure

SALINE TOWNSHIP, Michigan, July 16 (Reuters) - From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its corn and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project -- one that has turned this town of 2,400 people into the latest U.S. flashpoint over AI data centers. Dubbed "The Barn" by its consortium of developers -- Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab, OpenAI, Related Digital, Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab and Walbridge -- the Stargate data center is expected to stretch over 250 acres. Construction is moving ahead despite resistance from residents concerned about its impact on Saline's water supply, its power grid and its rural character. "Most people aren't interested in some massive development here," said Tammie Bruneau, who has led local pushback. "They're interested in protecting the farmland." In this deeply polarized country, opposition to data centers is among the few issues that unite voters across ideological lines. Just a third of Americans approve of the pace of data-center construction, according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 14% of respondents would support a data center being built in their community. That tension is increasingly pronounced in Michigan, where at least 13 data centers, opens new tab are in various stages of planning -- and communities in Saline and beyond are fighting back. Developers withdrew a project in Washington Township after residents mobilized against it; in Augusta, petitioners stalled development and forced a public rezoning vote. As backlash spreads, the fight over data centers is no longer confined to town councils, leaving politicians here and across the nation, opens new tab scrambling to keep up. MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS GRAPPLE WITH ⁠AI ANGER With Michigan's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate looming on August 4, in a race that will help determine the balance of power in Washington, candidates are weighing the benefits of AI development with mounting voter concerns. For many Americans, resistance to data centers is inseparable from broader unease about the future of AI and corporate power. "It seems like the big tech companies are kind of steamrolling the citizens," said Jeff Samoray, 57, a Democrat who lives in Huntington Woods, outside Detroit. In her bid for the Democratic nomination, Haley Stevens is running as a tech optimist, calling AI, opens new tab "a revolutionary technology." In a debate last week she linked data center development to job creation, saying it will put Michigan "on the forefront of innovation and manufacturing" while calling on tech companies to pay their water and utility bills. Stevens, who has served in the U.S. House since 2019, did not respond to a Reuters interview request. Abdul El-Sayed, her progressive rival, unveiled a policy platform last month that would require AI companies to operate as public-benefit corporations with more government oversight. He has stopped short of calling for a national moratorium on data-center construction - as others on the left flank of the Democratic Party have done, opens new tab -- but told Reuters that local moratoriums might be needed. "Too often local communities just don't have the capacity to withstand the pressure that huge corporations can put on them," he said in an interview. Ultimately, however, safeguards need to come from the federal government, he added. Samoray thinks neither candidate is taking a strong enough stand. "It's nice rhetoric, but I don't know if that stuff will really happen," he said, characterizing the AI industry as "a runaway train." Even the Trump administration, which ⁠has prioritized rapid AI development to compete with China, has taken note of shifting voter sentiment. Reuters reported on July 13 that the White House is working with utility companies and data center developers on a voluntary pledge to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for AI expansion. Politicians from both parties are "all over the map," said Lisa Wozniak, president of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. 'FORCED INTO THIS POSITION' The fight in Saline illustrates both the depth of public opposition and the difficulty of finding policy solutions. After months of contentious public meetings, the township board voted 4-1 in September to deny rezoning for the Stargate data center. Two days later, the developers and landowners sued the township. Facing costly litigation, officials reached a consent judgment in October allowing construction to proceed. The settlement provided some $14 million in community benefits, including farmland preservation and fire services, along with restrictions on water use and noise. Opponents have challenged ⁠the agreement in court. Builders broke ground on June 1 with Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman in attendance. The project will create more than 2,500 union construction jobs, 1,500 countywide jobs, more than 450 permanent jobs and billions in tax revenue, according to developers. But local opposition remains strong. "We really just didn't think it was fair that our board got forced into this position," said community activist Bruneau, who had never previously been involved in local politics. She worries about groundwater contamination and electricity costs. Bruneau is hardly alone, she said, with opposition crossing party lines: "We've met people from extreme right ⁠and left, and all the way in the middle." Beverly Kincaid, 56, a Republican who lives near the township, said data centers will be a central issue for her when she votes in November. In Saline, she said, "big money pushed their way around." A spokesperson for data-center developer and investment company Related Digital said in an email that the company is "committed to responsible development," including "protecting Michigan's water by using closed-loop, air cooling systems" and preserving "750 acres of farmlands, wetlands and woodlands." In a statement, an Oracle spokesperson said the company will fund all of the ⁠energy and infrastructure needed for the data center, "ensuring no impact on local ratepayer bills or grid reliability." Sandy Baruah, president of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said critics were missing the big picture: "For those of us who are involved in efforts to grow Michigan's economy, to create more jobs, it is truly puzzling." Laura Dennison sees both sides of the issue. The 42-year-old in Royal Oak worries about the agricultural impact of data centers. But researchers are also using AI to better understand her son's rare medical condition. "It doesn't matter if you're the person running for office or you're the person impacted by it," she said. "There's so many unknowns." Reporting by Helen Coster in Saline Township, Michigan, and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Disrupted Helen Coster Thomson Reuters Helen Coster is a National Affairs Correspondent at Reuters, where she writes a mix of spot news, enterprise and analysis stories, with a focus on politics and media. She previously covered the 2024 presidential race, with a focus on Republicans, and before then reported on the media industry. She was part of a team of Reuters journalists that won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Valerie Volcovici Thomson Reuters Valerie Volcovici covers U.S. climate and energy policy from Washington, DC. She is focused on climate and environmental regulations at federal agencies and in Congress and how the energy transition is transforming the United States. Other areas of coverage include her award-winning reporting plastic pollution and the ins and outs of global climate diplomacy and United Nations climate negotiations.

Community Backlash to AI Data Centers Is Growing Across the U.S.

When Laura Beth moved to Coweta County, Ga., in 2023, she was drawn to her new home's rural location--it was far from any major roads or highways and had sprawling open land behind it. "Our last home, the surrounding area was becoming very overdeveloped. We had a distribution center less than a mile from our house, and it was just kind of this urban encroachment," she says. "We knew about the land behind us, and [thought] the worst thing it could be was a subdivision, because who in their right mind would want to build anything out here?" Recommended Stories Then, at the start of 2025, she saw an article announcing that a new data center would be coming to her hometown. As she read it, a realization dawned on her. A hyperscale data center, spanning more than 4.9 million sq. ft., had been proposed -- and was expected to run right through her backyard. "I didn't know who to reach out to, who to talk to, who could give me some more information," she says. So she decided to start a Facebook group called "Stop Project Sail" to connect with her neighbors and discuss the proposed plan. More than 8,000 people have now joined the group, and have been organizing petition signings, installing yard signs, and mounting a legal fight against Coweta County and Atlas Development, the company behind the project. "The Board's responsibility is to serve the entire community, thoughtfully considering all feedback as decisions are weighed that affect Coweta County's more than 160,000 residents and its long-term future.The Board values the principles of democracy and recognizes the importance of our citizens speaking up on all issues that affect our County," Coweta County Administrator Michael Fouts said in a statement to TIME. "The Board ultimately voted in favor, 3-2, of Project Sail, with those who approved stating its long-term financial benefits it will provide to Coweta County." Atlas Development did not respond to TIME's request for comment ahead of publication. How communities are fighting back against data center construction The Georgia town is not alone. If there's one thing most Americans across the country agree on, it's that they hate data centers. A June Reuters poll found that just a third of Americans approve of the pace of data-center construction, and only 14% are comfortable with a data center being built nearby. On July 18, a national day of protest against data centers saw 142 protests across 42 states. According to one count by The Information, more than 300 cities, towns, and counties -- including Monterey Park, Calif., Dekalb County, Ga., and Jefferson County, Pa. -- have placed bans or moratoriums on the construction of hyperscale data centers. In the first three months of 2026, 75 major projects worth more than $130 billion were delayed or canceled in part due to organized local opposition. And on July 14, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order to create the nation's first moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, while several other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and South Carolina are considering similar pauses. Why data centers are straining local water and power supplies Data centers have long been used to store and process our digital information -- whether that be photos in the cloud or the videos we stream online. But the rise of hyperscale data centers in recent years -- which are higher performing and often used to power AI -- began to change things. "We've been aware of data center development as early as 2010, but they were much smaller in scale," says John Farner, executive director of land and water at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a non-profit which has been researching the land and water use of data centers over the last few years. "What we're seeing now, especially with the advent of hyperscale data centers, is that they're much larger, much more powerful. They're much more resource intensive." More than 160 new AI data centers have popped up across the U.S. in the past three years -- a 70% increase from the last three year period, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. In many instances, they've landed in communities with high competition for scarce water resources. A mid-sized data center consumes as much water as a small town, while larger ones require up to 5 million gallons of water every day -- as much as a city of 50,000 people. They also consume massive amounts of electricity. Data centers accounted for 4% of total U.S. electricity use in 2024, and their energy demand is expected to more than double by 2030. In many cases, the additional electricity costs are passed on to nearby residents; in states with a high concentration of data centers electricity prices have increased by up to 267% over the last five years. Steve Swope, another Coweta County resident, relies on wellwater, and is concerned that the construction of the data center could damage septic tanks or leak into the groundwater. "Our wells will either run dry or they'll become polluted and caked with sediment and mud," he says. Residents in other rural areas around the country have already reported that nearby data centers are making well water undrinkable. When Meta began construction on a $750 million data center in nearby Newton County, Ga. in 2018, the construction damaged local wells, caused municipal water prices to soar, and could cause the county to face a water deficit by 2030, according to reporting from the New York Times. Meta said that according to a study it commissioned, its data center project was unlikely to have impacted the water supply. Soon after Project Sail was approved, four more data centers were proposed in Coweta County. In May, Coweta County approved a data center moratorium on any future projects, but residents say it's too little, too late. "It's kind of like, well, the horses are all out of the barn, let's be sure to close the door now," says Swope. The fight has left Beth and her family in limbo. They bought their home intending it to be a fixer-upper -- the house is drafty, the windows need replacing. But they're hesitant to invest in a home they're not sure they'll stay in. "The unknown drives this cycle of [asking] do we move? I don't really want to move. Where do we move to?" she says. "They're everywhere. We'd want to move somewhere that also has a little bit of land, but all of that is that threat. We feel like there's no safe place to move." But, as of now, remaining put comes with its own set of problems. "If we stay here, this is going to be in our backyard."

Data centers have united Americans of all political stripes in a shared hatred

Kyle Schmidt ticked through what makes him irate about the massive Google data center slated for construction about a mile away from his home near Sand Springs, Oklahoma. He didn't like that residents were kept in the dark about what would be built on a pristine tract of mostly forested land. He's worried about the data center's potential impact on the community's water supply and on the dream home that his family moved into last year. But Schmidt said what really bothers him is the powerlessness he felt as the project advanced and elected officials, Google representatives and bigwig data center backers belittled or misled people who raised concerns. "I hate bullies," said Schmidt, a 43-year-old flooring salesman and project manager who leads a community group opposing the project. "Data center developers discovered if we can sneak in here without anyone noticing, we can pretty much take what we want." A rare issue uniting Americans is opposition to data centers, the sprawling computer complexes that are the most visible manifestation of the artificial intelligence boom. In a recent Gallup poll, about 7 of 10 Americans said they would oppose a data center being built near them, and many express concerns about the projects operating in secret and gobbling scarce land, water and electricity. But experts and activists say that the intensity and breadth of the data center backlash reveals something bigger: Americans' disgust with political and economic systems that feel stacked against them. Data centers, often backed by technology giants and advancing at the speed of AI, may be tangible symbols for a fed-up public to push back against powerful and unaccountable interests. Data centers are a "physical embodiment of all the anxiety that people are feeling around AI and the economy," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said in an interview last month. And Cox, who faced blowback over his support for a data center project, said people feel like "this is something that they can fight." The groundswell against data centers is blurring typical political and social divisions. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) wants to ban data centers, and Humans First, led by former tea party movement leader Amy Kremer, is organizing national data center protests on Saturday. Hill County, Texas, where Donald Trump won 82 percent of the vote in 2024, banned data center construction this year. So did residents of Monterey Park, California, a predominantly Asian and Latino working-class city east of Los Angeles. It remains unclear whether this opposition will meaningfully slow the expansion of data centers fueling the AI boom, or limit the AI chatbots that half of Americans use. But many elected officials say they know that the tide has turned against data centers, and they're rushing to show that they're listening to residents' concerns - or facing a political price. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat vying to flip a Senate seat in a closely watched race, has run advertisements accusing his opponent, Sen. Jon Husted (R), of recruiting data centers to the state at Ohioans' expense. This spring, residents of Festus, Missouri, voted out incumbent city council members over their approval of a data center project. Scott Babwah Brennen, director of New York University's Center on Technology Policy, said he is stunned by how quickly popular outrage over data centers is shifting public policy. For 15 years, he said, local governments rolled out the red carpet for data center construction in places such as eastern Washington and Northern Virginia. Companies including Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft often received tax breaks for what elected officials believed would be reliable future tax revenue, some additional jobs and a minimal strain on public services - at least compared with housing developments or factories. (Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) But about two years ago, Babwah Brennen said that power-hungry data centers in some parts of the country started being blamed for driving up household electric bills. Opposition in both red and blue regions continued to build to the point where he has tracked about 65 state data center restrictions enacted since the start of 2025, and dozens of cities that have imposed temporary halts to data center development. This week, New York became the first state in the nation to impose a temporary pause on large new data center projects. "There is far more partisan alignment here than there was even last year," Babwah Brennen said. Some people resisting data centers say they're not opposed to AI; Schmidt said that he's using AI to create a community information website. But some data center activists said they're wary of politicians and powerful corporations asking people to sacrifice in exchange for economic revitalization that may never arrive. Shaena Crossland, a lifelong West Virginian, said she's worried that data centers will repeat the pattern of industries such as coal mining and logging that harvested resources from West Virginia, while the state remained largely poor. "Hopefully this cycle of extraction and taking advantage of people will stop," Crossland said. She and another local resident, Amy Margolies, are helping spearhead opposition to a proposed data center complex in the eastern part of the state. People across the country have grown skeptical of promises that data centers generate good local jobs and technological advantages, said Abre' Conner, director of the center for environmental and climate justice at the NAACP, which is among the groups suing over Elon Musk's expanding data center complex in the Memphis area. Data centers are now galvanizing citizens to push back against economic and political influences, she added. "This is one of the largest expansions of people recognizing their power," Conner said. Tech giants and other data center backers have been caught off guard by the rapid rise of public opposition, arguing that the hubs are essential for modern digital services and to keep the United States ahead of China on AI. A spokesperson for Google, which is behind the Sand Springs data center, said it "strives to always be a good neighbor through long-term partnerships and investments in our sites, our people and the communities where we are located." The company said it's working to ensure compliance with Oklahoma law and local permitting guidelines. Some data center proponents also say that concerns about the computer hubs are sometimes misinformed, stirred by foreign propaganda or a symptom of NIMBYism - or "Not in My Backyard," shorthand for resistance to housing development and other new construction. "If NIMBYism becomes the reason we lose the AI race, for whatever reason, we're in a whole lot of trouble in this country," Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez said in April. But while nuclear energy was once widely unpopular, Dominguez said that nuclear power complexes are now less controversial than the data centers that Constellation is hoping to attract. Katherine Levine Einstein, a Boston University political scientist who researches local pushback to new home construction, said that data center opposition shares traits with this longtime resistance but only to a point. Since zoning and permitting decisions are typically made at the local level in the U.S., she said, "20 grumpy neighbors" can quash homes or data centers near them even if the new construction could benefit many others. With new housing, though, "we like it in the aggregate but we don't want it near us," Epstein said. "The public opinion about data centers is different: We don't want them anywhere."

US Data Center Protests Go National as Backlash Grows

By Valerie Volcovici and Lisa Baertlein July 18 (Reuters) - Opponents of the rapid buildout of data ⁠centers ⁠plan to hold protests on Saturday in at least ⁠125 locations across the United States, the first coordinated national effort to channel anger at the AI infrastructure expansion that has ramped up over the past year and roiled local politics. The protests are coordinated by a grassroots group called HumansFirst, co-founded by a former leader of the modern-day Tea Party who has compared growing opposition to data centers to the right-wing populist movement that emerged in 2009 to protest what it saw as excessive taxation and government overreach. Protesters will rally against what HumansFirst calls ⁠the "unaccountable" buildout of data ⁠centers and "unacceptable infringement on our liberty." Towns and counties have been at the forefront of opposition to data center projects that in some cases have been greenlit with local officials signing non-disclosure agreements with developers despite resident pushback or a lack of regulatory scrutiny. Now politicians at the state and national level are scrambling to keep pace with rising voter anger over the threat of higher power bills, the diversion of precious water resources and pollution. Data center opposition is among the few issues uniting Americans across ideological lines, with just a third of Americans approving of the pace of data-center construction in the U.S., according to a ⁠June Reuters/Ipsos ⁠poll. Only 14% of respondents would ⁠support a data center being built in their community to support artificial intelligence projects for technology firms such as Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Elon Musk's xAI. The Data Center Coalition, the industry's association and lobbying group, ⁠did not immediately comment on the protests. It previously told Reuters data centers are committed to being responsible neighbors in the communities where they operate. RED AND BLUE STATES REPRESENT Although HumansFirst co-founder Amy Kremer compared it to the conservative Tea Party movement's early days in 2009, she said the anger against data centers is nonpartisan. "They just woke up one day and found out they're going to have this monstrosity in their community, and they don't want it," said Kremer, who predicted data centers will be ⁠a defining issue in November's midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race. Kremer has criticized Republicans for giving Big Tech a "free ⁠pass," but she and some organizers also said they do not support policies like moratoriums on data center approvals adopted by the Democratic state of New York. Among other things, organizers said they want the development process to be transparent, resources and environmental health protected, community benefits such as the creation of well-paid union jobs and a way to hold developers accountable if they do not follow through on promises. Late on Friday, the Republican stronghold of Texas, a hotspot for data center development, was on track to have the most protests with 16. The battleground state of Georgia had 11, while Democratic California, Republican Florida and the swing state of Pennsylvania came in at 7 each. First-time activist and self-described "political nomad" Eva Cardona, 31, is organizing a protest in Texas. "I've been hearing about unregulated AI and the rapid growth was alarming me. I wanted ⁠to do something more hands-on than just your standard Facebook post," Hickman said. Left-leaning Ivan DelSol, 54, is helping lead a protest in the California desert's Imperial County, where a proposed data center project could use 260 million gallons of water per year from the Colorado River. "It's dystopian that you would use this much fresh water for AI," DelSol said. Although water is frequently cited as a top public concern, especially in water-stressed regions, the data center industry says its water use is not as significant as other industries. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)

AI's data centre boom is becoming a political problem across the globe

As governments race to attract AI investments, data centres are facing mounting opposition worldwide over their massive land, power and water demands, prompting protests, legal challenges and tighter regulations. Listen to this article in summarized format Listen × Subscribe to Unlock AI Briefing and Premium Content New Year Offer 24 Hours Left Subscribe Now Already a member? Sign In What's Included * Exclusive Stories * Daily ePaper Access * Smart Market Tools * Curated Investment Ideas * Ad-lite Experience * Subscription Paris: Governments worldwide are pushing to attract AI computing infrastructure, but must grapple with data centres' demands on resources and mounting local opposition. The massive buildings stuffed with specialised chips hungry for power and water have sparked objections from locals around the world. Voter concerns have sparked action from local and national governments, while American activists have called for nationwide demonstrations on July 18. Here are some key points to know about the data centre debate: What are the objections? Opposition to data centres from the US to India tends to focus on three major themes: land, power and water. Data centres can occupy vast swathes of land, with Meta's Prometheus site in Ohio measuring "a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan". In countries with weaker property protections, some have complained of being shouldered aside in favour of tech construction -- including Indian farmers in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, as tech news outlet Rest of World reported in April. Meanwhile data centres filled with top-of-the-line chips can draw the energy of a city. At 630 megawatts according to industry tracker Epoch AI, Prometheus is equivalent to around half a million American family homes. Bloomberg News found in a September 2025 analysis that electricity could be as much as 267 percent more expensive in areas of the US with high concentrations of data centres. And companies' off-grid generators -- such as SpaceXAI's gas turbines at its Colossus facility in Memphis -- have drawn complaints of their own. The NAACP campaign group in April filed a legal case alleging the turbines are harming mostly Black neighbourhoods with pollutants. As the chips get hot while they work, data centres need cooling -- mostly using water. While the absolute amount of water used is small -- around 0.3 percent of total supply in the US, according to electronics magazine IEEE Spectrum -- many are built in areas already facing high water stress. Other complaints against data centres include carbon emissions, noise and ultra-low-frequency "infrasound" vibrations that can be felt in the body. How have people responded? American campaign group Humans First has called for a "national day of protest" against "the unaccountable buildout of data centres" on Saturday 18. It is was not clear in advance how many will follow the call from the conservative group, which follows months of a rising drumbeat of local opposition across the US. Beyond civil opposition to data centres, security nonprofit The Soufan Group in May highlighted "a rise in direct threats against individuals perceived as driving (AI) technology forward" in the US. Two major incidents this year have been a Molotov cocktail attack on OpenAI chief Sam Altman's house and a gun attack on the home of an Indianapolis politician. Beyond America, campaigners across Europe have challenged data centre projects on grounds from environmental concerns to claims governments have granted undue favours, such as a legal action in Spain's Aragon region against a massive data centre buildout by Amazon. And in densely-populated Japan, a shortage of space has projects being planned in or near residential neighbourhoods. That has prompted legal action from some residents, such as against a proposed new data centre in Tokyo commuter town Inzai, which already hosts 10 facilities. Governments step in Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to pass laws requiring data centres to feed in to the power grid more than they draw and minimise water usage. The country "cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction," he said this week. Also this week, New York became the first US state to impose a general moratorium on new large data centre projects, also citing power and water drain. But Maine governor Janet Mills vetoed a similar would-be moratorium in April, citing the economic impact. In Europe, Amsterdam has imposed a moratorium on construction of new data centres over space and power concerns. And Denmark has placed data centres at the bottom of its priority list for access to electricity, warning of strain on its power grid.

Americans Are Angry About Data Centers. Politicians Are Feeling the Pressure

By Helen Coster and Valerie Volcovici SALINE TOWNSHIP, Michigan, July 16 (Reuters) - From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its ⁠corn ⁠and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach ⁠above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project -- one that has turned this town of 2,400 people into the latest U.S. flashpoint over AI data centers. Dubbed "The Barn" by its consortium of developers -- Oracle, OpenAI, Related Digital, Blackstone and Walbridge -- the Stargate data center is expected to stretch over 250 acres. Construction is moving ahead despite resistance from residents concerned about its impact on Saline's water supply, its power grid and its rural character. "Most people aren't interested in some massive development here," said Tammie Bruneau, who has led local pushback. "They're interested in protecting the farmland." In this deeply polarized country, opposition to data centers is among the few issues that unite voters across ideological lines. Just a third of Americans approve of the pace of data-center construction, according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 14% of respondents would support a ⁠data center being built in their ⁠community. That tension is increasingly pronounced in Michigan, where at least 13 data centers are in various stages of planning -- and communities in Saline and beyond are fighting back. Developers withdrew a project in Washington Township after residents mobilized against it; in Augusta, petitioners stalled development and forced a public rezoning vote. As backlash spreads, the fight over data centers is no longer confined to town councils, leaving politicians here and across the nation scrambling to keep up. MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS GRAPPLE WITH AI ANGER With Michigan's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate looming on August 4, in a race that will help determine the balance of power in Washington, candidates are weighing the benefits of AI development with mounting voter concerns. For many Americans, resistance to data centers is inseparable from broader unease about the future of AI and corporate power. "It seems like the big tech companies are kind of steamrolling the citizens," said Jeff Samoray, 57, a Democrat who lives in Huntington Woods, outside Detroit. In her bid for the Democratic nomination, Haley ⁠Stevens ⁠is running as a tech optimist, calling AI "a revolutionary ⁠technology." In a debate last week she linked data center development to job creation, saying it will put Michigan "on the forefront of innovation and manufacturing" while calling on tech companies to pay their water and utility bills. Stevens, who has served in the U.S. House since 2019, did not respond to a Reuters interview request. Abdul El-Sayed, her progressive rival, unveiled a policy ⁠platform last month that would require AI companies to operate as public-benefit corporations with more government oversight. He has stopped short of calling for a national moratorium on data-center construction - as others on the left flank of the Democratic Party have done -- but told Reuters that local moratoriums might be needed. "Too often local communities just don't have the capacity to withstand the pressure that huge corporations can put on them," he said in an interview. Ultimately, however, safeguards need to come from the federal government, he added. Samoray thinks neither candidate is taking a strong enough stand. "It's nice rhetoric, but I don't know if that stuff will really happen," he said, characterizing the AI industry as "a runaway train." Even the Trump administration, which has prioritized rapid AI development to compete with China, has taken note of shifting voter sentiment. Reuters reported on July 13 that the White House is ⁠working with utility companies and data center developers on a voluntary pledge to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for AI expansion. Politicians from both parties are "all over the map," said Lisa ⁠Wozniak, president of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. 'FORCED INTO THIS POSITION' The fight in Saline illustrates both the depth of public opposition and the difficulty of finding policy solutions. After months of contentious public meetings, the township board voted 4-1 in September to deny rezoning for the Stargate data center. Two days later, the developers and landowners sued the township. Facing costly litigation, officials reached a consent judgment in October allowing construction to proceed. The settlement provided some $14 million in community benefits, including farmland preservation and fire services, along with restrictions on water use and noise. Opponents have challenged the agreement in court. Builders broke ground on June 1 with Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman in attendance. The project will create more than 2,500 union construction jobs, 1,500 countywide jobs, more than 450 permanent jobs and billions in tax revenue, according to developers. But local opposition remains strong. "We really just didn't think it was fair that our board got forced into this position," said community activist Bruneau, who had never previously been involved in local politics. She worries about groundwater contamination and electricity costs. Bruneau is hardly alone, she said, with opposition crossing party lines: "We've met people from extreme right and left, and all the way in the middle." Beverly Kincaid, 56, a Republican who lives near the township, said data centers will be a central issue for her when she votes in November. In Saline, she said, "big money pushed their way around." A spokesperson for ⁠data-center developer and investment company Related Digital said in an email that the company is "committed to responsible development," including "protecting Michigan's water by using closed-loop, air cooling systems" and preserving "750 acres of farmlands, wetlands and woodlands." In a statement, an Oracle spokesperson said the company will fund all of the energy and infrastructure needed for the data center, "ensuring no impact on local ratepayer bills or grid reliability." Sandy Baruah, president of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said critics were missing the big picture: "For those of us who are involved in efforts to grow Michigan's economy, to create more jobs, it is truly puzzling." Laura Dennison sees both sides of the issue. The 42-year-old in Royal Oak worries about the agricultural impact of data centers. But researchers are also using AI to better understand her son's rare medical condition. "It doesn't matter if you're the person running for office or you're the person impacted by it," she said. "There's so many unknowns." (Reporting by Helen Coster in Saline Township, Michigan, and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Matthew Lewis)

AI data centers divide communities and scramble midterm playbooks

Opposition to AI data centers is one of the rare issues galvanizing voters across the political spectrum in this year's midterm elections. In battleground state Michigan, communities are fighting back. "... the development of this AI data center is really rattling citizens here." That's Reuters national affairs reporter Helen Coster. She recently visited Michigan's Saline Township, where tech giants OpenAI and Oracle have broken ground on a data center that's expected to stretch over 250 acres. COSTER: "Opponents of it are concerned about noise pollution, light pollution, the impact on the local water and their electricity rates. // They're concerned that if these companies go bust in a few years, or the technology shifts, such that they no longer need this kind of physical infrastructure, they're going to be stuck with these plants and that they're rural land will be forever transformed." A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that just one-in-three Americans approve of the pace of data-center construction. 57% of people surveyed -two-thirds of whom were Democrats and half, Republicans - would oppose one being built in their community. AI data centers sit at the intersection of Big Tech expansion, energy policy and the transformation of rural communities -- making them a potent political issue. The backlash also reflects deeper anxieties about AI's disruptive impact on society. For politicians from both parties on the ballot in November, the risk is clear: embrace data centers and alienate local voters or oppose them and undercut economic development and national security considerations.