America’s data center backlash is bipartisan — can it stay that way?
The article highlights a growing bipartisan backlash against data center development across the U.S., driven by concerns over energy costs, water scarcity, noise, and tax breaks. State and local governments, from Texas to New York, and communities in Utah and California, are considering or enacting regulations and bans on new data centers. This opposition represents a rare area of political consensus in an era of high polarization.
The article "America’s data center backlash is bipartisan — can it stay that way?" details a growing, bipartisan opposition to data center development across the United States. This backlash is fueled by concerns over high energy consumption, water scarcity, noise pollution, land use, and significant tax breaks offered to tech companies, with communities feeling they receive little in return for sharing their resources. Polling from Gallup indicates broad public disapproval, with 70% of Americans, including majorities of both Democrats and Republicans, opposing local AI data center construction.
This political phenomenon has led to significant actions at both state and local levels. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has proposed aggressive regulations on the tech industry's data center expansion, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, is considering a bill for a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers. Examples of local resistance include Box Elder County, Utah, where conservative voters are opposing a 40,000-acre data center project due to concerns about the Great Salt Lake and tax incentives. Similarly, voters in Monterey Park, California, approved a ballot measure to permanently ban data centers to protect air and water quality.
Experts like Anthony Leiserowitz of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication note the unusual alignment of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats on this issue. While the backlash has successfully stalled or blocked at least 75 data center projects, political scientists question whether this consensus will last or if it will eventually succumb to partisan tribalism. The diverse motivations behind local opposition, ranging from environmental impacts and resource consumption to energy grid strain and tax incentives, underscore the complex nature of this evolving political landscape.