Data Center Opposition Hardens Even as Gigawatt Projects Win Approval
Most people do not want a data center built where they live. Among surveyed adults, 56% said they would oppose one in their local area, against 15% who would support it, according to The Conversation Energy. That opposition held regardless of political or climate change views.
Resistance ran higher among those most worried about climate change, at 71%, above the 56% recorded across all respondents. The spread between the most climate-worried group and the wider sample puts data center siting in the same bracket of local objection whatever the respondent's starting view.
The projects drawing that resistance are large. The Taylor Technology Campus will have up to 1 GW of power capacity at full build-out, according to Event Registry. Keegan said a data center would occupy 2,000 acres and consist of 10 dome-like buildings, each powered by behind-the-meter gas, Event Registry reported. A campus running on behind-the-meter gas would draw less on the public grid, which could narrow the regulatory touchpoints where residents can object.
Approvals kept moving at the regulatory level. A public utilities commission voted to approve a new deal between an electric utility and Google, according to Grist. The gap between 15% local support and a commission-approved supply deal points to a system that clears projects faster than it builds consent for them.
The pushback is now moving onto ballots. Residents are demanding that local governments impose bans and moratoria on data centers, Inside Climate News reported. One state carries 21 local ballot measures related to data centers, including votes on restrictions in 10 communities.
If restriction votes across those 10 communities pass, developers planning gigawatt-scale campuses could meet binding local limits rather than the diffuse opposition a survey captures. The distance between 15% local support and projects sized at 1 GW suggests the next siting fights are decided community by community, not in opinion polls.
Sources
- Across the US, people don’t want data centers coming to their communities (opens in a new tab) - The Conversation Energy
- 1 GW Data Center Project Advances Near Austin (opens in a new tab) - Event Registry
- CEO of Hudspeth County data center apologizes for lack of community notice, clarifies project details (opens in a new tab) - Event Registry
- Why Google is paying to upgrade nuclear power plants (opens in a new tab) - Grist
- Inside Ohio’s Revolt Against Data Centers (opens in a new tab) - Inside Climate News