Resistance to AI data centers in the U.S. is intensifying at the local level. Political organizations supporting AI expansion have launched advertising campaigns in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin to shift public opinion. Meanwhile, recent surveys show that 61% of U.S. adults now oppose the construction of new data centers near their homes.
This dispute is no longer just a local community issue regarding site selection. As projects are halted, approvals slowed, and local bans increase, data center development is becoming a tangible issue in U.S. state elections, industrial investment, and credit evaluations.
The opposition ratio increased over the past four months.
A survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania of 1,320 U.S. adults found that 61% of respondents opposed the construction of new data centers in their local areas between June 16 and July 19, up from 49% in surveys conducted in February and March of this year.
By party affiliation, 69% of Democratic respondents expressed opposition, compared to 54% among Republicans and 53% among independents. The survey also showed that even among frequent AI users, opposition stood at 60%, not significantly different from the 64% among those who never use AI.
State elections and approvals are heating up simultaneously.
The organization Build American AI, supported by the super PAC Leading the Future, has launched an advertising campaign in the three states mentioned above. The organization states that the "noisiest and most extreme voices" should not determine America’s future, but has not disclosed its full budget, only indicating that spending has reached millions of dollars.
This week, U.S. President Trump also publicly stated that communities resisting data center development will become "left behind and poor," and called on local authorities to accept more data center construction. He also linked this backlash to U.S.-China competition.
At the local policy level, New York has imposed a moratorium on hyperscale data centers, Texas has paused certain approval processes, and cities such as Austin and Jersey City have enacted restrictions or bans. According to Data Center Watch, 75 projects totaling approximately $130 billion were blocked or delayed in the first quarter of 2026.
Mining companies turning to AI also face old challenges
As resistance grows, lenders have begun factoring the uncertainty of these projects into their credit risk assessments. In other words, community opposition and approval delays are no longer merely construction issues—they now impact financing costs and evaluations of project viability.
This situation has also placed similar pressure on some Bitcoin mining companies that have shifted toward AI infrastructure. Since grid connection rights held by mining companies typically take years to obtain, some firms are now leasing these resources to AI labs rather than continuing to use them for Bitcoin mining.
- TeraWulf signs 20-year, $19 billion lease agreement with Anthropic
- Hut 8 will use its Texas site for a $9.8 billion AI project.
- IREN signs a $3.4 billion cloud services agreement with Nvidia
Additional information: The article also notes that the bitcoin mining facility has previously faced multiple community lawsuits over noise issues. In May 2026, nine residents of Granbury, Texas, sued MARA Holdings, claiming the mine’s noise caused insomnia, headaches, and tinnitus.