US Datacenter Backlash Spurs 500-Plus Local Bans as 75% Oppose New Projects
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 30
US Datacenter Backlash Spurs 500-Plus Local Bans as 75% Oppose New Projects
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 30
Summary
Three-quarters of Americans now oppose local datacenter development, a swing of more than 30 points in a year, as more than 500 counties and municipalities have passed bans or moratoria.
That resistance is being driven by complaints over heavy water and power use, pollution, utility-rate pressure, subsidies, opaque local deals and the limited long-term jobs hyperscale facilities create.
The issue is already reshaping campaigns: Sherrod Brown has targeted Jon Husted over datacenters in Ohio, while Michigan Republican Mike Rogers backed a one-year moratorium after scrutiny of his AI investments.
Republicans and Democrats alike are scrambling to adjust, with Greg Abbott saying datacenters had "dug their own grave" even as some Democratic leaders still support projects or oppose moratoria.
Organizers say the fights are forging unusual cross-partisan alliances against big tech, turning a local land-use dispute into a broader challenge to corporate power in US politics.