Data center backlash spreads across the US — new study reveals 90% of public comments oppose new developments over water and power concerns | Daily Reports Online
- More than 90% of public comments oppose new American data centers
- Water consumption remains the biggest concern among data center opponents
- Rural and urban communities oppose data centers for different reasons
Public resistance to data center construction is spreading across the United States, with local government meetings recording overwhelming opposition to proposed developments.
A new database containing more than 10,000 public submissions indicates that communities remain largely unconvinced about hosting these facilities.
Residents’ objections focus on the effects of data center construction, particularly water consumption, electricity costs and environmental pollution.
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Local opposition cuts across political and geographical divisions
The American Sentiment website, operated by San Francisco AI startup Prophecy Gov, examined 10,202 public comments collected during 906 meetings across 417 local governments.
Its findings cover 48 states with 90.5% of submissions opposing data center developments and only 7% expressing support. Another 2.5% of the comments consisted of questions about the proposed developments, while 73% of meetings recorded no expressions of support from residents.
Even where favourable opinions emerged, opponents outnumbered supporters by approximately six to one.
The resistance crosses political affiliations, with Republican and Democratic counties recording almost identical levels of opposition.
However, disagreements over specific concerns varied according to community characteristics, with rural residents frequently discussing farmland and property rights.
Urban and suburban participants more commonly raised concerns involving pollution, electricity expenses, government accountability and inadequate disclosure.
Water consumption attracted the greatest attention among opponents, particularly following reports of substantial withdrawals by individual computing developments.
One project reportedly consumed 29 million gallons in May 2026, prompting nearby residents to notice reduced pressure across their local water supplies.
Nevertheless, these competing claims have not eliminated public concerns about resource consumption and the potential consequences for surrounding communities.
Technology companies and industry leaders face growing scrutiny
Public criticism has also extended to major technology companies associated with artificial intelligence and large computing infrastructure projects.
SpaceX and xAI chief executive Elon Musk received the most personal references, followed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel ranked third, ahead of Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Despite the attention given to artificial intelligence, only 21% of submissions mentioned AI, meaning most objections concerned other aspects.
Concerns about electricity costs, environmental pollution, water availability and local development therefore featured prominently throughout the collected discussions.
Support also varied considerably among occupational groups, with union workers expressing substantially greater acceptance of new facilities.
Approximately 79% of commenters identifying as union workers supported data centre construction, compared with just 3% of property owners and residents.
Even among people employed directly in the data centre industry, only 40% supported the construction of additional facilities, with these figures indicating employment opportunities have not necessarily translated into widespread public acceptance of new data centre projects.
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