The state of the backlash
Data centers have become one of the fastest-moving land-use and energy fights in the country. The figures below come from published polling, industry trackers, and government research — sources are linked on each tile.
Note: Data Center Watch, a frequently cited tracker of blocked and delayed projects, has been described in press reports as having AI-industry-adjacent funding; its figures are widely quoted by both sides. Polling of hypothetical local projects may differ from views on specific proposals.
Where data centers are being fought
Major contested proposals and policy fights across the U.S., compiled from local and national reporting. Status reflects the most recent reporting we have reviewed (as of August 2, 2026) and can change quickly — follow the linked sources for the latest.
Project Blue
In litigationTucson's city council unanimously rejected the campus in August 2025 amid concerns over water and energy use in a Colorado River–dependent desert region, and over NDAs shielding the end user's identity. The project moved to nearby Marana, which approved rezoning; opponents gathered roughly double the signatures needed to force a referendum, but the town rejected the petitions in February 2026. Litigation over the petitions was pending as of mid-2026.
xAI Colossus & Colossus 2
In litigationxAI's supercomputer facilities have been powered in part by on-site methane gas turbines, many of which operated without air permits, according to litigation brought by the NAACP and Earthjustice under the Clean Air Act. Residents of the predominantly Black Boxtown neighborhood cite health concerns. The Shelby County Health Department granted permits in July 2025, which opponents appealed; in June 2026 the U.S. Justice Department intervened on xAI's side, citing national security. The facilities have kept operating.
PW Digital Gateway
Effectively deadOnce slated to be among the world's largest data center corridors (up to ~23 million sq ft), the project unraveled after a circuit court voided its 2023 rezoning on procedural grounds. Compass abandoned its appeal, the county withdrew from defending the lawsuit in April 2026, and QTS dropped its state supreme court appeal that July. More than 100 landowners with purchase contracts were left in limbo, some suing to exit.
Cloverleaf campus (OpenAI / Oracle "Stargate")
Under constructionThe $15 billion megaproject proceeded, but in April 2026 Port Washington voters passed what was widely described as the nation's first anti-data-center referendum — requiring voter approval for future tax-incentive districts over $10 million, by roughly a two-to-one margin. The measure doesn't affect the existing project; business groups have filed a legal challenge to strike it down.
OpenAI–Oracle Stargate campus
Under constructionThe township initially voted the project down; the developer sued, and the township settled and approved it rather than face mounting legal costs — a sequence critics describe as a small town being litigated into acceptance. Construction began in spring 2026. In July 2026 the township approved a tax break roughly nine times smaller than the developer requested.
Meta "Hyperion"
Under constructionState and parish leaders champion the project; the fight is at the Louisiana Public Service Commission over who pays for billions of dollars in new gas generation and whether Meta's commitments are enforceable. An administrative law judge ordered Meta to disclose jobs and power data, which the company contested, and Earthjustice asked regulators to investigate the project's financing structure. Advocates warn of rate impacts on households; supporters point to jobs and investment.
Imperial Data Center
Moratorium + lawsuitsCounty supervisors approved the project in April 2026 without full environmental review, drawing a CEQA lawsuit from the City of Imperial. Facing backlash over Colorado River water (an estimated ~260 million gallons/year) and air quality in a region with high childhood asthma rates, the county reversed course in June with a 45-day data center moratorium — prompting the developer to sue. A countywide referendum effort is underway.
Hood County cluster (Project Patriot, Comanche Circle & others)
ContestedEight data center projects have targeted this county of about 62,000 people. After Granbury approved a 2,100-acre rezoning in April 2026, residents sued the city alleging open-meetings violations. Two county moratorium attempts failed 3–2, and the county faces developer lawsuits. Concerns center on aquifer strain, the Brazos watershed, noise, and the county's limited zoning power. In July 2026 Gov. Greg Abbott called for a ban on data center development in rural residential areas.
First-in-nation statewide ban (vetoed)
Statewide policy fightMaine's legislature passed the country's first statewide ban on large data centers in April 2026, citing electricity rates and grid capacity. Gov. Janet Mills vetoed it days later, and a House override attempt failed by a single vote.
Mountain Road Tech Park
RejectedThe county board of supervisors denied the project 4–3 in May 2026. Opponents said its projected ~600,000 gallons/day of water use could consume up to 90% of the zone's supply; the developer had offered $15 million for water infrastructure. Noise, rural character, and skepticism about jobs and revenue also featured.
Pennhurst site data center
RejectedTownship supervisors unanimously rejected the proposal in May 2026 over scale, water, traffic, and proximity to homes; a court battle is expected. Across Pennsylvania, municipalities have been adopting 180-day moratoriums, and the state House passed a data center "pause" bill alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro's "responsible development" plan.
Metro Atlanta moratoriums
MoratoriumDeKalb County commissioners voted 5–2 in June 2026 to extend a data center moratorium through September 30 while writing setback, noise, water, and energy rules. Athens-Clarke County denied a project and weighed its own pause; Glynn County rejected a moratorium despite pushback. Community groups voiced anger after the 2026 legislative session ended without action on data center bills.
Data center + gas plant proposal
ContestedThe county planning commission sided with residents in late July 2026, recommending against rezoning ("No rezoning, no data center"), and the county council chair called for a temporary moratorium. Multiple South Carolina counties enacted moratoriums in June 2026 as a statewide siting bill stalled in the legislature.
Ohio township pushback
MoratoriumsTrumbull County leaders issued a moratorium halting a data center plan, and several central Ohio communities around Columbus and New Albany have adopted their own pauses. Statewide, fights continue over electricity costs — including AEP Ohio's data center tariff — and Gov. Mike DeWine paused new data center tax exemption requests in May 2026.
East-side Indianapolis project & county wave
ApprovedAn east-side Indianapolis data center won approval in July 2026 despite community opposition, as the city advanced a data center regulation ordinance. Nearly a third of Indiana counties have adopted moratoriums, bans, or restrictions, according to July 2026 reporting.
Moratorium petition & tax-break rollback
Statewide policy fightOregon Rural Action launched a petition campaign — "secrecy, extraction and exploitation" — seeking a moratorium on new eastern Oregon data centers. The state enacted a law affecting data center tax breaks in June 2026, after 2025's POWER Act created a separate rate class so large users pay their share; Gov. Tina Kotek has said Oregon has been a "cheap date" for the industry. An industry group is running pro-data-center ads in Oregon and six other states.
Citywide one-year moratorium
MoratoriumDenver's city council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center construction in May 2026 while the city develops regulations.
County moratorium
MoratoriumDeSoto County approved a data center moratorium on July 29, 2026 — though the controversial project that prompted it can still advance under the terms adopted.
The fight spreads beyond Data Center Alley
ContestedVirginia's disputes are spreading past Loudoun and Prince William: Warren County residents near Shenandoah National Park have crowded planning meetings over a Rockland Road industrial/data center proposal, and Fairfax County residents are organizing against infill projects.
Where politicians stand
Positions are classified from what officials have actually done or said on the record — votes, vetoes, signed laws, executive actions, and direct statements — with a source for each. Many positions are nuanced; "conditional / mixed" covers officials who back data center growth with strings attached (ratepayer protections, disclosure rules, reduced tax breaks). This is not an endorsement or criticism of anyone listed. Positions evolve; check the linked sources.
Supports expansion Conditional / mixed Opposes / restricts
Federal
| Who | Stance | What they've done or said | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump (R)President | Supports expansion | Announced the $500B Stargate venture (Jan 2025); signed Executive Order 14318 (July 2025) streamlining federal permitting for large AI data centers and opening federal land; White House launched a voluntary "Ratepayer Protection Pledge" signed by 187 organizations and 23 governors by July 2026. | White House · POWER |
| Jon Husted (R-OH)U.S. Senator | Conditional / mixed | Leads the Senate Ratepayer Protection Act requiring data centers of 100 MW+ to pay their own generation and transmission costs: "America must build energy infrastructure for AI while protecting families and small businesses from higher electricity bills." | Senate release |
| Gabe Evans (R-CO) & Kathy Castor (D-FL)U.S. Representatives | Conditional / mixed | Co-lead H.R. 9340, the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which advanced out of House Energy & Commerce 52–0 in July 2026. | House E&C · The Hill |
| Bernie Sanders (I-VT) & Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)U.S. Senator / Representative | Opposes / restricts | Introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act (March 2026), a federal moratorium on new AI data centers until safeguards exist. Sanders: "We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy." | Senate release · Axios |
| Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) & John Fetterman (D-PA)U.S. Senators | Conditional / mixed | Introduced the Clean Cloud Act (S. 1475, April 2025), which would set an EPA emissions performance standard for AI and crypto data centers. | Congress.gov |
| Dave McCormick (R-PA)U.S. Senator | Supports expansion | Applauded Amazon's $20B Pennsylvania data center investment (June 2025): Pennsylvania's energy resources "make Pennsylvania a perfect base to power America's innovative technological future through data centers like these." | Senate release |
| Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA)U.S. Representative, Loudoun Co. | Opposes / restricts | "We have too many data centers at this point" (July 2026); supports a state-level moratorium in Virginia. | NOTUS |
| Dina Titus (D-NV)U.S. Representative | Conditional / mixed | Called on Nevada's governor (July 2026) to freeze state tax abatements for data centers on federal land pending review. | Nevada Current |
Governors & state leaders
| Who | Stance | What they've done or said | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abigail Spanberger (D-VA)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Campaigned on making data centers "pay their fair share"; agreed to a first-in-nation data center energy consumption tax ($0.11/kWh, capped at $600M/yr, from July 2026) while keeping the sales-tax exemption; amended cost-shifting bills in ways sponsors said weakened them. | American Prospect · Virginia Mercury |
| Glenn Youngkin (R-VA)Former Governor (through Jan 2026) | Supports expansion | Vetoed HB 1601 (2025), a bipartisan bill requiring site, water, and noise impact assessments, saying it "limits local discretion and creates unnecessary red tape." | Cardinal News |
| Brian Kemp (R-GA)Governor | Supports expansion | Vetoed a 2024 bill pausing Georgia's data center sales-tax exemption; the exemption survived the 2026 session after a repeal passed the Senate but died in the House. | Data Center Dynamics · Inside Climate News |
| Greg Abbott (R-TX)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Signed SB 6 (2025) giving grid operators oversight of large loads; directed regulators in June 2026 to ensure "everyday Texans are not burdened with the costs"; in July 2026 called for banning data center development in rural residential areas; signed the White House ratepayer pledge. | Community Impact · Houston Public Media |
| Katie Hobbs (D-AZ)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Signed a 3-year pause of Arizona's data center sales-tax exemption (2026–2029), saying it lets the state examine where data centers "provide economic opportunity and where they're not sucking the groundwater"; vetoed a bill that would have weakened referendum rights amid the Project Blue dispute. | AZ Capitol Times · AZ Luminaria |
| Mike DeWine (R-OH)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Paused new data center tax exemption requests (May 2026) pending legislative review: "Data centers are a critical component to today's technology-driven economy… it is not a data center ban." | Governor's office |
| Josh Shapiro (D-PA)Governor (2026 re-election race) | Conditional / mixed | Championed Amazon's $20B investment and fast-tracked permitting in 2025, then pivoted in 2026 to a "GRID" plan of standards tying tax breaks to clean-energy and job thresholds: "We need to be selective about the projects that get built here." | Spotlight PA · Inside Climate News |
| Stacy Garrity (R-PA)State Treasurer; 2026 gubernatorial nominee | Opposes / restricts | Supports a temporary pause for zoning updates, mandatory rather than voluntary rules, and full repeal of the sales-tax exemption: "You can't just jam it down their throats." | Spotlight PA |
| Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Won in 2025 on utility costs; announced data center "guardrails" (May 2026) — "Not on my watch, not on your backs" — and signed a three-bill package in July 2026 creating a separate ratepayer class for data centers and making them responsible for infrastructure costs. | WHYY · NJ.gov |
| Jeff Landry (R-LA)Governor | Supports expansion | Championed Meta's Richland Parish campus and its expansion past $50B: "This commitment from Meta puts Louisiana at the center of America's future in artificial intelligence." | Opportunity Louisiana |
| Mike Braun (R-IN)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Pro-growth but insists projects carry their own costs: "You're going to shoulder 100%, and you're going to ideally put more on if you want to come here and do business"; signed the White House ratepayer pledge. | WFYI · 14 News |
| Tony Evers (D-WI)Governor | Supports expansion | Jointly announced Microsoft's additional $4B Mount Pleasant investment (Sept 2025) as an economic development win. | WEDC |
| Bill Lee (R-TN)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Signed the White House ratepayer pledge (July 2026): "Tennessee has shown we can lead the nation in innovation while protecting hardworking families from higher utility bills." | Tennessee Lookout |
| Tina Kotek (D-OR)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Signed the POWER Act (2025) creating a separate rate class for large energy users; applauded regulators' ~30% rate increase on data centers paired with a residential decrease. | OPB · Governor's office |
| Janet Mills (D-ME)Governor | Supports expansion | Vetoed the legislature's first-in-nation statewide ban on large data centers (April 2026); the override failed by one vote. | Portland Press Herald |
| J.B. Pritzker (D-IL)Governor | Conditional / mixed | Paused data center tax incentives effective July 2026 and urged ratepayer protections and water requirements. | MultiState |
| Justin J. Pearson (D-TN)State Representative, Memphis | Opposes / restricts | Led opposition to xAI's Colossus facility and its gas turbines, calling for their shutdown and alleging Clean Air Act violations; hosted Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's visit to the site. | WREG |
| Louise Lucas (D-VA)State Senator | Opposes / restricts | Sponsored SB 253 shifting costs to high-load users (passed 2026); publicly pressed the governor to go further: "Governor, read the damn room." | Virginia Mercury · American Prospect |
Also notable: Georgia's November 2025 Public Service Commission races — widely tied to Georgia Power bills and data center load growth — flipped two seats to Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard (Georgia Recorder). In June 2026 primaries, incumbents who backed data centers lost races in Utah, South Carolina, and Maryland (Christian Science Monitor).
Key bills and policies
A snapshot of significant federal and state measures, with status as of August 2, 2026.
What the press is reporting
Summaries of significant reporting on the data center fight, in our own words, with credit and links to the original outlets. We summarize; the linked outlets own the reporting.
Data centers boost jobs 4% in cities — rural economies barely feel a dent
A Georgia Tech study finds data centers raise employment about 4.1% and wages about 5.5% in urban areas, with negligible effects in rural counties — and retail electricity prices roughly 5% higher after data centers come online. Evidence for both sides of the jobs debate.
Voters signal opposition to AI data centers in local primaries
June 2026 primaries saw incumbents who backed data centers defeated: Utah's Senate president lost by more than eight points after championing a hyperscale project, and commissioners in Utah, South Carolina, and Maryland lost to challengers running against data centers.
America's data center backlash is bipartisan — can it stay that way?
Reports that roughly 70% of Americans oppose AI data centers in their communities (75% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans), with more than 800 opposition groups across 49 states contesting some 1,500 planned facilities — and restrictive moves from governors of both parties.
Fact-check: how much have data centers actually raised electricity prices?
PolitiFact rated "Mostly False" a claim that bills near data centers rose "as much as 267%" — that figure describes wholesale price growth near data center clusters, not household bills. It confirms real data-center-driven costs, including a $9.3 billion (174%) rise in PJM capacity costs attributed to data center demand.
The movement to stop data centers
Reports more than 100 proposed moratoriums or bans across local, county, state, and national levels; polling showing local opposition rising from about 40% in August 2025 to about 70% by May 2026; and a New York statewide ban on large data centers awaiting the governor's signature.
Data center moratorium gets unanimous approval in Denver
Denver's city council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center construction while the city writes regulations — one of the largest U.S. cities to pause the industry.
America's data centers are thirsty. Rural towns are paying the price
Details two incidents of unauthorized water use — about 29 million gallons via an unmetered hookup at a QTS project in Fayette County, Georgia, and roughly 650,000 gallons taken for dust control by a Project Blue contractor in Tucson. Notes U.S. data centers consumed about 17.4 billion gallons in 2023, projected at 38–73 billion by 2028.
Thirsty data centers fuel local angst over water infrastructure
UC Riverside researchers estimate $10–58 billion in water infrastructure will be needed for AI data centers through 2030. Columbus, Ohio is raising water rates 18% partly due to data center growth, and the piece notes a mismatch between 50–60-year water infrastructure and 15–20-year data center lifespans.
Data centers are on the ballot in 2026 — and just failed the first test
Port Washington, Wisconsin voters approved, roughly two-to-one, a referendum requiring voter approval before the city grants major tax breaks — a response to the $15 billion OpenAI/Oracle project underway there. In Festus, Missouri, voters ousted every incumbent council member over a $6 billion data center approval.
With electricity bills rising, some states consider new data center laws
At least a dozen states have implemented or are weighing separate, higher electric rate classes for data centers, plus long-term contract commitments and collateral requirements. Includes both legislator concerns and the Data Center Coalition's response.
A grassroots revolt is turning voters in Republican strongholds against the AI data-center boom
Describes organized opposition in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, with residents citing noise, diesel exhaust, rising energy costs, and public subsidies. Notes data center power demand projected to grow roughly five-fold over the next decade.
State and local opposition to new data centers is gaining steam
Covers a Data Center Watch study finding $98 billion in projects blocked or delayed between late March and June 2025, with organized resistance spanning 53 groups in 17 states — and the industry's response that members are committed to paying their full cost of service.
Voters' anger at high electricity bills and data centers looms over 2026 midterms
Reports that utilities sought rate increases exceeding $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 — roughly double the prior year — and that data centers' growing power demand has become a central affordability issue in states including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas.
From the front lines — and the other side
Direct quotes as they appeared in published reporting, from residents and organizers fighting proposals and from the industry and its supporters. Inclusion is not endorsement; each quote links to the original source and context.
I'm afraid to drink the water, but I still cook with it, and brush my teeth with it. Am I worried about it? Yes.
How am I going to relax with something buzzing at me 24/7?
Once they're built, there's nothing you can do.
It's never been red versus blue. It's people who live here versus people who want to industrialize where we live.
It's like the Gilded Age, part two. Only bigger.
To increase it by 40 gigawatts is to almost triple our entire grid for one industry.
It is my responsibility to create guardrails to protect Tucson from this industry.
A data center should not be a potential death sentence for a community's health.
The message was heard throughout the county – we will stop data centers!
It's inaccurate to draw a clear line between large load customers like data centers coming online and increases in prices.
Our goal is that by 2030, we'll be putting more water back into the watersheds and communities where we're operating data centres, than we're taking out.
The data center industry is building out as quickly as they can to meet that growth.
This commitment from Meta puts Louisiana at the center of America's future in artificial intelligence.
The numbers behind the fight — and where they're disputed
Many figures in this debate are contested or easily misused. Here's what the research says, with the caveats attached.
Electricity
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found U.S. data centers consumed about 176 TWh in 2023 — roughly 4.4% of U.S. electricity — projected to reach 6.7–12% by 2028. National average residential electricity prices rose about 42% from 2020–2025, with steeper increases in some regions; PJM capacity costs for 2025–26 rose $9.3 billion (174%), an increase its market monitor largely attributed to data center demand.
Disputed: The widely-quoted "267%" figure refers to wholesale price growth near data center clusters, not household bills (PolitiFact rated one such use "Mostly False"). Projections vary widely, and analysts note utility interconnection queues contain speculative "phantom" load requests that may overstate real demand. The industry disputes drawing "a clear line" between data centers and household price increases; economists confirm real but smaller effects.Sources: DOE/LBNL · PolitiFact · Stateline
Water
U.S. data centers directly consumed about 17.4 billion gallons in 2023, projected at 38–73 billion gallons by 2028 (LBNL figures); a medium-sized facility uses roughly 110 million gallons a year. UC Riverside researchers estimate $10–58 billion in water and sewer infrastructure will be needed for AI data centers through 2030.
Disputed: Companies point to closed-loop and air cooling and "water positive by 2030" pledges; critics counter that company figures often exclude the indirect water used by power plants and local aquifer effects.Jobs
A July 2026 Georgia Tech study found data centers raise long-run local employment roughly 3.5% overall — about 4.1% in urban counties but a negligible amount in rural ones — with wages up about 5%.
Disputed: Opponents note hyperscale facilities employ few permanent workers ("$3 billion boxes that create maybe 30 jobs," in one organizer's words); the industry counters with thousands of construction jobs and supply-chain effects.Source: Fortune / The Conversation
Taxes & incentives
Data centers can be enormous local taxpayers — a QTS campus in Fayette County, Georgia is projected to generate $150–200 million in annual tax revenue — which is why many localities court them even amid opposition. At the same time, states including Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, and Illinois moved in 2026 to trim, pause, or offset data center tax breaks.
Disputed: Watchdog groups argue per-job subsidy costs are extreme given small permanent headcounts; industry argues facilities often become a locality's largest taxpayer.Sources: Fortune · Virginia Mercury
The scale of opposition
Data Center Watch tallied $64 billion in projects blocked or delayed from May 2024–March 2025, $98 billion from late March–June 2025, and roughly $130 billion across 75+ projects in early 2026, with 800+ opposition groups active across 49 states. Gallup found 71% of Americans oppose an AI data center in their local area (March 2026).
Disputed: Data Center Watch has been described in press reports as having AI-industry-adjacent funding, and itself acknowledges that attributing delays "oversimplifies a complex landscape." Opposition to hypothetical nearby projects doesn't always translate to opposition in specific votes.Sources: Data Center Watch · Gallup · Grist/Spotlight PA
Send a tip — or a correction
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What this is
datacenterbacklash.com is an independent tracker of the growing public debate over data center construction in the United States. The site's name refers to the phenomenon we cover — the wave of community responses to the data center boom — not to a position we take. We aim to document, evenhandedly, where projects are proposed and contested, what elected officials have done and said, and what credible reporting and research says about the impacts, both claimed benefits and claimed harms.
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