Construction of data centers intended to serve artificial intelligence development faces growing opposition worldwide, with the sharpest pushback occurring in the United States. In some cases local officials were removed from office after approving projects, and there have even been death threats related to certain developments.
According to a report by the research group Data Center Watch, communities prevented or paused roughly $68 billion in data center investments between April and June 2026. That amount is approximately 21,568 billion Hungarian forints.
Regulations and moratoria
Bloomberg reports that 30 U.S. states have adopted rules governing data center siting and resource use. Many communities are demanding moratoria on planned projects before developers even file permit applications, effectively trying to block developments at an early stage.
At the same time, hyperscale operators—companies that build very large data infrastructure—have spent more than $1 trillion on deployments since 2023. Bloomberg notes that an additional $745 billion in investment targeting data infrastructure is expected in 2026.
Why communities are protesting
Opposition stems from several concerns, both environmental and infrastructural:
- Data centers require large land areas and generate significant operational noise.
- Water and electricity consumption are major worries. Analysts estimate that AI-related water demand could reach 600 billion gallons by 2030 (about 2,247 billion liters).
- Growing electricity demand from data centers will strain grids: projections suggest data centers could account for roughly 20 percent of U.S. electricity consumption by 2035.
The intensity of community action is notable: in July 2026, across a single weekend, activists organized 142 protests against AI-serving data centers in 42 states.
Industry responses and political reactions
Some companies have sought to reduce grid pressure by building on-site power plants; however, these installations do not automatically resolve greenhouse gas emissions concerns. Beyond environmental effects, security issues related to the technology are discussed, and some countries, including China, have elevated those concerns into political matters.
The debate has a political dimension in the U.S.: Donald Trump has argued that those who oppose data centers are choosing to remain poor, expressing support for such investments.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has tried to downplay water-use fears by comparing them: he said that 38,000 ChatGPT queries use about as much water as producing a single almond, an attempt to contextualize the consumption figures.
Economic and environmental risks
Community opposition has already delayed or stopped large investments—Data Center Watch’s $68 billion figure quantifies the short-term financial impact for the second quarter of 2026. Over the medium term, the dispute affects grid planning, water and energy management, and local economies: data centers can bring jobs and tax revenue but also place growing demands on resources.
It remains unclear how the AI era will ultimately play out. Both the scale of corporate investment and increasing local resistance will shape future infrastructure development and environmental outcomes.
