US midterm polls expose growing voter backlash against data centres
Voters in Piqua, Ohio, approved a ban on data centers larger than 25 megawatts, putting Meta's planned $1 billion-plus project at risk despite its prior approval. Similar restrictions passed in Ottawa, Kansas, and Janesville, Wisconsin, where officials also rejected a proposed Viridian data center and adopted a one-year moratorium.
Data center opponents won ballot measures in several American communities during the midterm elections, reflecting concerns about resource use, limited long-term employment, infrastructure demands and quality-of-life impacts. In Piqua, Ohio, voters approved a ban on facilities larger than 25 megawatts, threatening Meta's planned data center, which was valued at more than $1 billion and had already received approval. Grassroots organizer Alisha Lange said the measure passed with about two-thirds of the vote.
Residents in Ottawa, Kansas, also approved a ban on large data centers. In Janesville, Wisconsin, the City Council rejected an $8 billion proposal from Viridian for a former General Motors site, later adopted a one-year moratorium, and voters approved additional restrictions requiring large projects at the site to go before a referendum. The developments are part of a broader wave of local restrictions on data center construction across the United States.