New mapping shows how rural communities near high-voltage lines are becoming hotspots for data centers
Data centers, driven by AI, are increasingly expanding into rural American communities near high-voltage transmission lines. This trend is leading to growing local resistance due to concerns over resource strain, tax base impacts, and perceived power imbalances with developers. Examples in Wisconsin and Minnesota highlight ongoing conflicts and legal challenges against these projects.
Driven by the rise of artificial intelligence, data centers are expanding beyond traditional metropolitan hubs like Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley" and establishing themselves in rural communities across the United States. New mapping by The Daily Yonder, utilizing crowd-sourced data from FracTracker Alliance, reveals a significant number of data centers are being built or proposed in non-metropolitan counties, particularly near high-voltage transmission lines crucial for their energy demands.
This shift presents unique challenges for rural areas, which often have smaller tax bases and fewer resources to negotiate with large developers. For instance, in Port Washington, Wisconsin, a $15 billion hyperscale data center campus by Vantage Data Centers, serving OpenAI and Oracle, is projected to represent 50% of the community's tax base. Prescott Balch, a local advocate in Caledonia, Wisconsin, successfully organized residents to oppose and cancel a Microsoft data center proposal, citing concerns about financial instability should such a large tax revenue source disappear.
The expansion has also spurred considerable opposition and legal battles. In Minnesota, a Goodhue County District Court Judge ordered a halt to a hyperscale project near Rochester following an environmental lawsuit. Across the country, the Data Center Opposition Report identifies approximately 129 groups in rural counties actively fighting data center development, often forming bipartisan coalitions.
Public opinion reflects this growing concern, with recent Gallup and Reuters/Ipsos polls indicating that a majority of Americans oppose AI data centers in their areas and worry about rising electricity costs. Experts like David Krueger, an AI professor and co-author of the opposition report, note that communities often feel these projects are forced upon them, bypassing standard approval processes, which further fuels widespread resistance.