# Explosion of data centers is fueling a political backlash > Source: > Published: 2026-07-24 19:58:36+00:00 # Explosion of data centers is fueling a political backlash even as economy depends on them The backlash against AI-powering data centers is just get started, experts say A text message hits your phone reminding you it’s your mom’s birthday. You log into your bank’s mobile app to see if you have enough cash to buy her flowers. Once that’s done, you rely on your phone to give real-time data so you can avoid traffic jams, because you’re already late for the party. All that technology works faster and better because of the boom in data centers, which power [artificial intelligence](https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/03/09/presidential-leadership-series-gina-raimondo/) programs that make cell phones faster, allow online banking and even real time weather updates. More than 4,500 centers were built in the U.S., most since the 2000s, with a 70 percent jump since 2023 U.S. and another 1,500 new data centers in various stages of development, according to the non-profit [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/13/most-new-data-centers-in-the-us-are-coming-to-rural-area). As much as the support from these data centers powers our lives and, in many ways, makes them more efficient, they are also becoming a flashpoint for public discontent in the U.S. The backlash stems from fears over potentially rising utility bills, noise pollution, and unsightly warehouses constructed near homes. The outcry has become so intense that politicians are starting to respond to the proliferation of grassroots organizations that oppose the centers, including through moratoriums on building these facilities. Though AI may be here to stay, the furor over these centers is also likely to remain Northeastern experts say. “There are, at a minimum of 500, some say 800, organized groups in America against building new centers,” said [Daniel Aldrich,](https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/03/25/faculty-staff/daniel-aldrich-lorna-hayward-teaching-excellence-award/) a Northeastern University Professor at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, “Politicians are scrambling to catch up.” ## Editor’s Picks A recent Gallup poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum are opposed to data centers. Seven in 10 people say they don’t want these facilities constructed near them. Most of the 1,000 people who took part in the survey released in May expressed concerns about the projects operating in secret, and consuming too much land, water and electricity, the poll said. In a first of its kind move, earlier this month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, put a one-year moratorium on all new construction of data centers in the state and she has since said that she is considering ending tax incentives for such facilities. As many as 15 states, including Maine, are considering following moratoriums similar to that of New York, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and some lawmakers are introducing federal moratoriums. Many more states, including Georgia, have rules in place to protect residential rate-payers by requiring data centers to pay for any additional infrastructure needed at electric plants to increase capacity and power generation. But people are still concerned about the expansion, Aldrich said, worrying about massive power and water demands. For instance, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that by 2030, Data Centers in the U.S. could consume 9.5 percent to 15.3 percent of all electricity produced in the United States. They consume about 4.4 percent now, the agency estimates. Northeastern University Professor [Josep Jornet](https://coe.northeastern.edu/news/the-future-of-space-computing-and-the-hurdles-for-orbital-ai/) of the College of Engineering, said that you have to think of the average data center as a giant warehouse and they hold a thousand or more large computers which use about 40 percent of the power coming into the building. The rest of the electricity is used on its cooling systems to get rid of the heat using lots of chilled water to do it. “There is no off switch,” Jornet said. “They need power and water all the time.” And some data centers use as much as 500,000 to 1 million gallons of water daily. This is equivalent to the daily water usage of a town with 10,000 to 50,000 residents, according to the non-profit Environmental and Energy Study Institute. That has residents also worried about their local water supply and possible pollution, Alridch said. At least one industry group, the Virginia-based [Data Center Coalition](https://www.datacentercoalition.org/cpages/home), disputes that the centers directly impact residential electricity costs. Citing an independent report by San Francisco-based energy consulting firm [Energy + Environmental Economics](https://www.datacentercoalition.org/cpages/e3-energy-white-paper), the coalition asserts that rising electricity costs are largely due to inflation, grid modernization and volatility in the cost of natural gas, a fuel often used to generate electricity. But [David Kaeli](https://news.northeastern.edu/research/archives/kenneth-church-natasha-noy-acm-fellows/), a Northeastern University computer scientist and professor at the university’s College of Engineering, said that data centers help drive the modern economy, with everything [from farming](https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/publication/harnessing-artificial-intelligence-for-agricultural-transformation) to modern medicine to [Wall Street banking.](https://www.aba.com/news-research/analysis-guides/artificial-intelligence-in-banking) Kaeli said that the centers can be built as “green” or environmentally friendly centers, such as the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke. It’s an intercollegiate high-performance computing facility, operated by Northeastern University, Boston University, Harvard, MIT, the University of Massachusetts system and Yale. The data center in Holyoke is considered “green” because of its efficient design that uses less power for cooling, and its use of hydroelectric power, among other features to reduce its energy consumption. Right or wrong, Aldrich said he doesn’t think the public uproar will die down. “The political pressure is getting started,” he said.