Overview
- Dozens of local ballot measures in at least 38 jurisdictions will decide on Nov. 3 whether to delay, limit or block new data centers and set local conditions for approvals.
- Recent polls show broad public support for limits and for making developers pay for grid upgrades, with a University of Houston survey finding 79% of Texas voters favor limits and 99% saying builders should cover electrical expansion costs.
- State action has followed local pressure: New York’s one‑year moratorium on hyperscale facilities remains in place and several governors have paused permits or tightened reviews to force stronger limits on electricity and water use.
- Environmental groups warn the planned buildout could sharply raise power‑sector CO2 emissions, with a Sierra Club estimate — reported by multiple outlets — that planned U.S. AI data centers might add roughly 618 million metric tons of CO2 between 2025 and 2030.
- Industry and communities are clashing over jobs, tax revenue and local harms as projects face years‑long grid connection delays, some hardware idled, and growing protests about electricity bills, water use, noise and unequal local impacts.