Overview
- Ipsos polled 4,000 U.S. adults for Redfin in late 2025 and found 47% oppose an AI data center in their neighborhood, while 38% support one.
- Tom’s Hardware reports about half of previously announced data‑center projects are now delayed or canceled because of local resistance, financing strains, and transformer shortages.
- Protests have blocked or stalled at least 48 projects, and Newsbusters reports one Indiana official’s home was shot at during a fight over data centers.
- Newsbusters says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill to pause new data‑center construction.
- Industry advocates downplay electricity price risks, citing an Institute for Energy Research study and slower rate growth in Northern Virginia, as critics note a single center can use as much power and water as a small town.