Key Takeaways
- A Data Center Watch report found that $64 billion in data center projects have been delayed or blocked since 2023 due to community opposition.
- More than half of all said projects are in Virginia, also known as “Data Center Alley.”
- Hosting providers should take note: Where you build or invest will directly impact your center’s success, so make sure to do your research first.
Approximately $64 billion in data center projects have been delayed or have been blocked over the past two years due to mounting community opposition, according to a new report.
Data Center Watch, a firm that tracks nationwide opposition to data center development, found that at least 16 projects across the U.S. have been delayed or blocked since 2023.
Cited objections include rising utility bills, water usage, noise pollution, property value declines, and the loss of green spaces.
The firm also identified 142 activist groups across 24 states dedicated to organizing protests against data center construction and expansion.
A key finding is that the opposition is bipartisan — interestingly making it a politically broad issue.
Republicans tend to focus on tax incentives and the strain on the energy grid, while Democrats are more concerned with environmental impacts and resource consumption.
Regardless of the why, both Republicans and Democrats agree that they don’t want data centers in their communities.
The NIMBY Movement
Despite the economic benefits, such as job creation and increased tax revenue, many communities remain skeptical about having a data center development in their vicinity.
A HostingAdvice survey shows that while a majority of Americans support data center construction in principle, most are hesitant about projects in their own neighborhoods.
The Data Center Watch report suggests that data centers have become the latest targets of the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) movement.
It’s a role that was once filled by factories, warehouses, and big-box retail stores coming to otherwise quiet, suburban neighborhoods.
As more Americans become aware of the environmental and resource-related drawbacks of newly built data centers, further opposition may become inevitable.
Virginia, known as “Data Center Alley,” has seen several data center projects canceled or delayed, with 9 of the 16 affected projects located in the state.
Tyler Ray, a leader in the opposition against Amazon’s Bren Mar data center in Alexandria, spoke out about the project.
“All that we are asking for is, as the county tries to bring in this data center income, that they do it in a way that doesn’t drive residents away from their homes,” he said.
As of now, the Bren Mar site is one of the many marked as “delayed” by Data Center Watch.
Location, Location, Location
If this says anything to hosting providers, it’s that location matters. Where you choose to build or invest will be what determines your project’s success.
As objections grow louder, it may be wise for stakeholders, developers, and operators to engage directly with local concerns before deciding where to plant their next data center.
