Kansas communities push back against AI data centers
Communities across Kansas are actively organizing to oppose proposed data center developments due to concerns over land, water usage, and noise pollution. This comes in the wake of a 2025 state bill providing significant tax exemptions, which has attracted numerous large-scale data center projects. Residents are forming grassroots groups and advocating for actions like moratoriums to protect their communities.
Communities throughout Kansas are actively opposing proposed data center developments, even before many projects fully materialize, driven by concerns over environmental impacts and the transformation of local landscapes. Residents believe their areas possess the desirable attributes for data center developers, including undeveloped land, energy resources, and access to the Kansas River.
Nancy Theilmann, a farmer living on the outskirts of Lawrence, Kansas, is a key figure in this resistance. She highlights the strong cultural desire to protect prime farmland and, along with other community members, has formed well-organized opposition groups. These groups are learning from fellow advocates to discourage developers from bringing projects to their towns.
The surge in data center interest in Kansas is attributed to a 2025 bill that enacted a 20-year state and local tax exemption for certain data center projects. This incentive has led to numerous proposals, including a massive data center near Douglas County, which some residents, like those in Tongano, fear could destroy their community. In DeSoto, Kansas, construction is already underway for a 2.9 million square foot data center, prompting residents to demand more information on the potential impacts, such as loss of land, increased water usage, and noise pollution.
Across the U.S., grassroots opposition is gaining momentum, with over 430 local Facebook groups totaling more than 525,000 members dedicated to opposing data centers. The video notes that New York recently became the first state to approve a statewide moratorium on data centers, a precedent that many watchdog groups hope will be emulated elsewhere.