Historically, the average American had minimal awareness of nearby data centers. These server farms, while serving as the essential yet often unseen infrastructure of the internet, seldom garnered significant attention beyond the technology sector, much less sparked widespread political discussion.
However, by 2025, that reality appears to have fundamentally shifted.
In the last year, data centers have sparked protests across numerous states, with local activists mobilizing to oppose the accelerating expansion of computing infrastructure in the U.S. According to Data Center Watch, an organization monitoring anti-data center movements, 142 distinct activist groups in 24 states are currently organizing against these projects.
Activists raise several issues, including the environmental and potential health repercussions of these developments, the contentious applications of AI, and, critically, the concern that numerous new power grid connections might be contributing to higher local electricity costs.
This sudden surge of public opposition seems to be a logical outcome for an industry that has expanded so rapidly it is now encroaching upon residential areas. As the AI sector has reached unprecedented growth, the cloud computing industry has followed suit. Latest U.S. Census Bureau figures indicate a remarkable 331% increase in data center construction spending since 2021, with total investments reaching hundreds of billions of dollars. The volume of new data centers proposed recently has led many experts to conclude that most of them will not — and likely cannot — be realized.
Meanwhile, this expansion shows no indications of abating. Leading technology companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon have collectively declared substantial capital expenditure forecasts for the upcoming year, with the bulk expected to fund these kinds of projects.
The push for new AI infrastructure extends beyond Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration has prioritized artificial intelligence. The Stargate Project, unveiled in January, laid the groundwork for the extensive AI infrastructure development planned for 2025, proclaiming a supposed “re-industrialization of the United States.”
As it rapidly expands, an industry previously operating largely out of public view has unexpectedly become a focal point, now facing considerable opposition. Danny Cendejas, an activist associated with MediaJustice, has actively participated in several initiatives against data centers, including a protest earlier this year in Memphis, Tennessee, where residents voiced their disapproval of the Colossus expansion, a venture by Elon Musk’s xAI startup.
Cendejas shared with TechCrunch that he frequently encounters individuals interested in organizing against data centers in their local areas. He remarked, “I don’t foresee this ending anytime soon. I believe it will continue to gain momentum, and we will witness more successes — more projects will be halted.”
Cendejas’s observations are widely supported. Communities nationwide have responded to proposed server farms with an intensity comparable to public alarm over a highly infectious disease. For example, in Michigan, where developers are currently considering 16 sites for data center development, protesters recently rallied at the state capitol, declaring: “Michiganders do not want data centers in our yards, in our communities.” Concurrently, in Wisconsin, another area experiencing a development boom, disgruntled residents seemingly convinced Microsoft to abandon plans for a new 244-acre data center in their town. In Southern California, the small city of Imperial Valley recently initiated legal action to challenge the county’s approval of a data center project, citing environmental worries.
The widespread dissatisfaction with these projects has escalated to a point where political figures perceive it as a potentially decisive factor for candidates in upcoming elections. A November report indicated that increasing electricity expenses—widely attributed to the AI boom—might emerge as a pivotal issue influencing the 2026 midterm elections.
Cendejas conveyed to TechCrunch that “The direct link to escalating energy bills is, I believe, what has truly made this issue so prominent for people. Many of us are struggling financially each month. Concurrently, there’s this massive expansion of data centers…[People are questioning] the source of this funding, and how local governments are allocating subsidies and public money to support these projects, especially when our communities have so many pressing needs.”
In certain instances, protests seem effective, even leading to the temporary suspension or complete halt of planned developments. Data Center Watch asserts that grassroots opposition has resulted in the blocking or delaying of approximately $64 billion in development projects. Cendejas firmly believes that organized public action can successfully impede corporate plans. He stated, “All this public pressure is working,” adding that he detected “a very palpable anger” surrounding the matter.
Predictably, the technology industry is countering these efforts. Politico reported earlier this month that the recently formed National Artificial Intelligence Association (NAIA) has been “providing talking points to members of Congress and arranging local data center tours to better convince voters of their worth.” The publication also mentioned that tech firms, including Meta, have launched advertising campaigns to promote the economic advantages of data centers to the public. Essentially, the tech industry’s aspirations for AI are heavily reliant on an enormous expansion of computing infrastructure, suggesting that the server boom, along with its accompanying opposition and division, will persist into 2026.