Harvard scholar: the data-center backlash is just getting started

A Harvard researcher warns that local backlash against data center construction is intensifying as communities face rising electricity prices, noise, and water use. Despite federal support for data centers as a strategic priority, local governments are pushing back against the tech industry's rapid expansion.

As the race to build data centers across the United States accelerates, local governments worry that the tech industry mantra of “ move fast and break things https://www.forbes.com/sites/hillennevins/2026/03/26/why-its-time-to-stop-saying-move-fast-and-break-things/ ” means their communities are at risk of being broken. I’m a Harvard researcher https://www.belfercenter.org/collection/project-grid-integration studying the relationship between data centers and energy. I’ve closely monitored how local governments respond to proposals or even just concerns about the potential for data centers in their communities. What I’ve found is a complex story of community needs, political tensions and corporate power – all interacting with local, state and national democratic processes. Promises and potential Technology companies stay competitive by being ready to provide data and communications services even before customer demand rises https://www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/ai-data-centers-us-electric-grid . Data centers already power online communications https://www.coresite.com/blog/the-role-of-data-centers-in-powering-digital-everything , shopping and banking https://fortune.com/company/nubank/ systems. Now, expanding demand for artificial intelligence has led to over 1,000 pending data center proposals https://cleanview.co/data-centers/us across the country. Federal actions also drive development. The Trump administration has identified data center build-out as a strategic priority https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure/ . The administration has promoted data center capacity as a measure of American strength https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-state-of-ai-competition-in-advanced-economies-20251006.html and signaled that federal regulations on data centers https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-government-is-letting-a-key-data-center-regulation-expire/ may be eased. At the community level, technology companies claim that data centers bring jobs https://americanedgeproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Americas-AI-Surge-Powering-Growth-in-Every-State.pdf , economic revitalization, digital connectivity and economic growth to local communities. Not great neighbors So far, however, data centers’ benefits https://www.wri.org/insights/us-data-center-growth-impacts are overshadowed by more visible harms https://theconversation.com/5-ways-data-centers-endanger-their-local-communities-and-the-country-as-a-whole-282348 . Nearby residents experience higher air pollution https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/analyzing-air-pollution-health-economic-risks-from-ai-data-centers/ and excess noise https://wwmt.com/news/local/lawsuit-hyperscale-data-center-dowagiac-noise-class-action-business-center-legal-osha-decibels-contained-digital-asset-mining-facility-rural-southwest-michigan-infrastructure . Data processing also uses a lot of water https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption to cool the buildings and their equipment https://theconversation.com/data-centers-consume-massive-amounts-of-water-companies-rarely-tell-the-public-exactly-how-much-262901 . Natalie Behring/Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/commissioners-look-at-a-presentation-at-a-planning-and-news-photo/2277885990 Simultaneously, electricity prices https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/ continue to outpace inflation, burdening families across the country. These trends reflect, in part, the costly infrastructure investments https://theconversation.com/data-centers-need-electricity-fast-but-utilities-need-years-to-build-power-plants-who-should-pay-271048 needed to power data centers. The local movement My research has found that local governments across the U.S. are trying to avoid or reduce these harms. Some counties and cities that don’t have specific zoning rules and regulations for data center development are using short-term moratoriums. These pauses in data center permitting and construction give communities time to consider how to define new laws and regulations about the facilities’ location, electricity use, water conservation and noise buffering. Speaking about his town’s decision to impose a one-year data center moratorium, Rick Bella, the town council president in Merrillville, Indiana, about 40 miles southeast of Chicago, stressed a desire to “ evaluate real-world impacts https://nwindianabusiness.com/industries/professional-services/information-technology/merrillville-council-oks-1-year-data-center-moratorium/78095/ and learn from a project developing right next door before determining what may or may not be appropriate for Merrillville.” Other places want to block data centers altogether. In April 2026, for example, the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority https://cms3.revize.com/revize/ypsilantiwater/Documents/About/Board%20of%20Commissioners/Agendas%20And%20Minutes/2026/2026-04-22%20Board%20Packet.pdf near Detroit, Michigan, passed a yearlong halt to the “delivery, commitment, reservation, extension, or approval of water and sewer services” for data centers. The move blocks data centers, including one under development by the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory, from getting the water https://www.michigandaily.com/news/news-briefs/ypsilanti-township-proposes-water-moratorium-that-could-block-planned-umich-data-center/ they need to operate. Separately, towns across Ohio, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nevada and California have put questions related to data centers on their local ballots https://www.multistate.us/insider/2026/5/7/voters-target-data-centers-with-local-and-statewide-ballot-measures . Through these referendums, voters can weigh in on construction bans, tax incentives and zoning ordinances. Oracle https://fortune.com/company/oracle/ and Open AI. Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/saline-michigan-construction-of-a-16-billion-data-center-news-photo/2275015698 Power struggles While public attitudes around data centers have remained largely nonpartisan https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/us/politics/liberals-conservatives-data-centers.html , local and state officials don’t always see eye to eye. Officials in Hood County, Texas, for example, rejected a proposal for a six-month moratorium https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/10/texas-hood-county-rejects-data-center-development-pause-ai/ after a state senator urged the Texas attorney general to intervene and prevent the measure. In 2025, West Virginia https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy and environment/1-year-post-hb-2014-data-center-environmental-protection-transparency-limits-loom/article e166f9fb-6ec8-4d1e-945a-5ec010e661bd.html passed a bill that reduces local governments’ zoning and regulatory powers in relation to data centers and microgrids. A similar bill in New Hampshire https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/house-sets-by-right-data-center-zoning-bill-aside-in-decisive-vote/ ’s legislature was defeated in May 2026. Tech companies are also flexing their legal and financial muscles. For example, data center developers sued Saline Township, Michigan https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ai-data-center-michigan-saline-politics-farmland/ , and Chatham County, North Carolina https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article315547697.html , seeking to overturn their local zoning decisions, to be able to proceed with data center construction. Changing tides Local pushback comes at a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence technology itself. As seen in objections https://fortune.com/2026/06/05/war-ai-slop-publicis-groupe-hachette-publishers-association/ to the internet’s expanding AI “slop https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/merriam-websters-word-of-the-year-for-2025-is-slop-the-ai-generated-junk-that-fills-our-social-media-feeds-180987887/ ,” backlash over AI-generated Super Bowl ads https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/super-bowl-ai-ads-critics-experts-1235514369/ , worries about an AI-related financial bubble https://www.fastcompany.com/91551762/stock-market-ai-bubble-recent-warning-sign-sp-500-mag-seven and complaints about Google’s pivot https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/duckduckgo-installs-spike-google-search-ai to AI-directed search, Americans are reckoning with AI’s role in society. Further, many people are questioning the role of technology broadly. Increasing numbers of teens and adults are addicted to their smartphones https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/behavior-disorders/addiction-to-electronic-devices , emotionally and psychologically dependent on their availability. Parents and teachers are questioning the usefulness of various types of digital technologies in classrooms https://jacobin.com/2026/05/educational-technology-children-learning-iready . Even the pope has warned that technology must serve humanity https://newrepublic.com/article/210916/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-ai-silicon-valley-oligarchy – and not the other way around. Americans are responding to this moment through the power of their voices and votes. Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/st-paul-minnesota-state-capitol-data-center-moratorium-now-news-photo/2272795445 Technology companies may view moratoriums and new regulations as delays in project development. But the town hall discussions, community coalitions https://www.nj.com/news/2026/05/60-groups-just-called-on-nj-governor-to-immediately-pause-all-ai-data-center-projects.html , public petitions https://www.change.org/topic/data-centers-en-us and even farmers’ unions https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/04/15/texas-agriculture-commissioner-candidate-on-data-centers reflect American democracy at work. In Sunbury, Ohio https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/information-technology/2026/03/30/sunbury-ohio-consider-moratorium-data-centers-resident-pushback/89384301007/ , local officials considered a moratorium only after witnessing the scope of public protest over a proposed data center. In April 2026, voters in Festus, Missouri https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/13/missouri-city-council-data-center-00867259 , removed several City Council members after they supported a new data center despite resident pushback. The question of whether a community wants or should have a data center does not have a universal answer. I believe it’s a question that deserves deliberate processes, transparency and consideration. To me, these local-level actions reflect a desire to slow down. There is little question that data centers and AI will be part of our collective future. Today, communities are asking for a fair say in what their futures will be. Rachel Mural https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-mural-2706717 , Senior Research Associate in Environment and Natural Resources and Science, Technology, and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School https://theconversation.com/institutions/harvard-kennedy-school-3840 This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief . 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