It seems that data centers are a dirty word, as many communities actively oppose these facilities. This is not surprising, as local residents face many pitfalls when data centers are built in their neighborhood, including increased energy bills. In some cases, American data centers are setting up in people’s homes, with some owners even receiving eviction notices. The reason? Make way for new facilities. But residents aren’t alone in this, as US state lawmakers are actively trying to limit, or even outright ban, the construction of new data centers in their respective jurisdictions.
Although parts of the Trump administration say data centers are essential for the United States to strengthen its lead in the AI sector, critics are looking at the bigger picture. Keeping data centers remote through moratoriums can allow lawmakers to carefully evaluate the effects of new facilities on local resources. More importantly, it will give local leaders more time to improve power grids.
Currently, 15 US states have attempted to impose moratoriums on data center construction, but not all have succeeded. While states like Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Vermont have introduced moratoriums, only New York has adopted its moratorium on data centers larger than 20 MW. Moratoriums generally prohibit the construction of new data centers until a certain date, with some exceptions like in Vermont, where lawmakers require impact studies or aim to prohibit local approval until a more detailed oversight framework is introduced (like in South Carolina). Unfortunately, of the 15, six moratoriums failed (South Dakota, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire, to name a few), while Maine’s moratorium ended up being vetoed.
What about local moratoriums?
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A large number of data centers are expected to be built in the United States, although 3,000 are already operational, according to Pew Research. Considering that north of 1,500 new facilities are under construction, the failure of state moratoriums makes it seem like the battle is already lost, so to speak. However, many local jurisdictions have successfully banned new data centers – more than 150, to be exact.
For example, several California cities, including Monterey Park and Coachella, have imposed limits on new data centers for at least a year, citing environmental concerns and public outcry. It’s not just blue states like Washington and California that are actively responding. Take Alabama, a state that has voted Republican in every election cycle since 2000. Many cities have active data center moratoriums, including Springville, Leeds, and Homewood. A similar story is that of Indiana. Besides cities and townships, entire counties like Boone and Madison County have said no to data centers.
The future is uncertain. Yet the good thing about this whole story is that it may not be a partisan issue. That both sides of the political spectrum oppose building new data centers, regardless of the goal (environmental or simply concerns about utility bills), is a rare point of agreement in a country where a clear party divide is often brought to the forefront.
