Data Center Pushback Hit Record Levels in Early 2026, Report Says
Opposition delayed or blocked at least $130 billion in projects in Q1
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2026 – Data center developers are learning that local opposition can move almost as fast as AI investment.
Community opposition to data centers surged to record levels in the first quarter of 2026, delaying or blocking at least 75 projects worth about $130 billion, according to a new Data Center Watch report.
The report said Q1 produced “the largest single-quarter concentration” of disrupted data center projects on record. The scale roughly matched all of 2025 in just three months, according to NBC News.
The numbers point to a growing permitting risk for the AI buildout, as local fights over power, water and land use move from zoning hearings into state legislatures.
Data Center Watch said more than 300 state data center bills were filed in the first six weeks of 2026, while statewide moratorium proposals were introduced in 14 states. Maine lawmakers passed what would have been the nation’s first statewide data center moratorium, but Gov. Janet Mills, D, vetoed the bill.
The backlash is colliding with federal efforts to accelerate AI infrastructure. The White House last year directed agencies to speed permitting for data centers and related power infrastructure, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright has told lawmakers that AI, data centers and reshoring manufacturing are driving “huge demand for electricity.”
The widespread opposition has drawn skepticism from some in Washington. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., recently asked the Justice Department to investigate whether foreign adversaries were amplifying anti-data center activism, an allegation that reflected how politically charged the issue has become.
Some industry officials have argued that distributed data centers connected by fiber could reduce community resistance by spreading compute demand across more sites, rather than concentrating power needs in a single host community.
