According to Wired, local opposition to data centers absolutely exploded in the second quarter of 2025. Data Center Watch’s new report found that community resistance blocked or delayed a staggering $98 billion in data center projects from March to June alone. That’s up dramatically from the $64 billion blocked or delayed in the entire previous period from May 2024 through March 2025. In Georgia, newly elected Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard says data centers were the “very close second” issue for voters after affordability concerns. The backlash hit home when a $17 billion Atlanta suburbs project was put on hold after Coweta County imposed a 180-day moratorium following resident pushback.
Why everyone’s pushing back
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just NIMBYism. People are genuinely worried about these facilities sucking up their electricity, water, and land while paying minimal taxes. Georgia became a data center hotspot partly because of generous tax breaks, but now residents are asking who’s really footing the bill for all that infrastructure. When your power bills keep going up and you’ve got Peter Hubbard campaigning on utility affordability while pointing at data centers as part of the problem, you’ve got a political perfect storm.
The bipartisan backlash
What’s really interesting is this isn’t following traditional political lines. Georgia and Indiana – not exactly blue strongholds – are leading the charge. That $17 billion Coweta County project that got paused? That’s exactly the kind of massive development that makes neighbors nervous. And when you look at the Q2 2025 opposition numbers, it’s clear something fundamental has shifted. Communities are suddenly realizing the true cost of hosting these power-hungry facilities, and they’re not having it anymore.
What this means for tech
So where does this leave the AI boom that’s driving all this data center demand? Basically, we’re hitting infrastructure limits faster than anyone predicted. Companies betting on endless cheap power and willing communities might need to rethink their expansion plans. The legislative scrutiny is coming, and other states are watching Georgia closely. When industrial-scale computing needs meet local community concerns, something’s got to give. And honestly, for companies building these facilities, having reliable industrial computing hardware becomes even more critical when every project faces intense public scrutiny – which is why many turn to established suppliers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs that can withstand these demanding environments.
The new normal
Look, data centers aren’t going away. But the era of quietly building these massive facilities wherever land is cheap might be over. The Data Center Watch reports show we’ve crossed a threshold – communities are organized, informed, and ready to fight. That $98 billion in blocked projects in just three months? That’s not a blip. That’s the new reality for an industry that’s about to discover that you can’t just plop down power-hungry facilities without answering to the people who live next door.
