Overview
- Public opposition is broad and bipartisan, with multiple polls showing large majorities against new data centers near their communities and dozens of local moratoriums and protests reported.
- President Donald Trump and industry leaders continue to promote data centers as key to competing on AI and creating jobs, while the White House has pushed a voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge to limit rate impacts.
- Lawmakers in Congress are moving a bill to require large data‑center customers to fund grid upgrades, signaling a push for binding costs rather than voluntary industry commitments.
- States including New York and Texas have imposed pauses, audits or moratoria on hookups and approvals, and Pennsylvania has become a flashpoint as Governor Josh Shapiro backs energy standards while still supporting targeted tax incentives.
- Public hearings have produced arrests and restricted comment in many towns and unpublished law‑enforcement reports have flagged protests as a potential security concern, raising legal and civic questions about how dissent is handled.