Local Resistance Grows as the AI Data Center Boom Reaches Small Towns

The rush to build data centers for artificial intelligence is running into organized local opposition in communities that would host them, CBS News and NBC News reported over the weekend, turning zoning boards and city councils into front lines of the debate over the technology’s costs.

The country already has more than 4,000 data centers in operation, with many more under construction, CBS News reported. Loudoun County, Virginia, has more than 53 million square feet of data centers in operation or development, and one building there is just over a million square feet. Digital Realty’s chief executive told CBS News the sector is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

In Archbald, Pennsylvania, a borough of about 7,000 people, a half-dozen proposed data centers have drawn fierce opposition, CBS News reported. Residents shouted at project representatives at a March 10 borough meeting, and an application for an 18-building campus has hit a roadblock. Sarah Gabriel, who helps lead the Archbald Neighborhood Association, said, “We’re not against AI data centers,” according to CBS News. Residents’ worries include rising utility bills, loss of trees and other environmental effects, with developers drawn to places rich in land, water and power, CBS News said. The scope of the jobs and tax revenue the projects bring is widely debated, the report added.

In Indianapolis, City-County Councilor Ron Gibson is standing by a proposed $500 million data center in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, which he described as a “done deal,” even after his home was shot at days earlier, NBC News reported. NBC News said the project is one of many across the country that have drawn heated backlash.

The fight has reached Washington. CBS News reported that Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which would pause construction until Congress enacts tougher AI rules. Sanders said he fears Congress “is totally unprepared for the magnitude of the changes” the technology will bring. President Trump and many Republicans say data centers are vital to the future economy, CBS News reported, and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania said, “I think the net benefit for Pennsylvania is enormous,” while calling for a “covenant” from developers to communities on jobs, the environment, water and energy costs.

That last point may be where the two sides can meet: even supporters of the buildout, in the CBS report, want firm commitments, and opponents say they are not against the technology itself. What remains unsettled is who pays for the new power plants and transmission lines the machines will need.