More than 70 per cent of Americans oppose the establishment of an AI data centre near their homes; public protests have already blocked or delayed 75 projects worth 130 billion dollars.
According to figures from Data Centre Watch, local opposition to data centres has blocked or delayed 75 projects representing $130 billion in investment in the first quarter of 2026 alone in the United States. Nearly 40 people have been arrested this year for protesting against the construction of new sites, as part of a movement comprising at least 430 Facebook groups with a total of more than 525,000 members across the country.
The main grounds for opposition centre on energy and water consumption, the cost of electricity, noise and air pollution generated by these facilities. Seven out of ten Americans say they are opposed to the establishment of an AI data centre in their area, with 48 per cent “strongly opposed”. Local votes and referendums in several towns have already enabled communities to demand greater transparency, or even to block certain projects, against a backdrop of cross-party mobilisation in at least 42 states.
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