Data centre growth faces political and local resistance worldwide

Governments around the world are trying to attract computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence, while facing local and political resistance over the resources that data centres require.

The facilities, which contain specialised chips used for AI and other computing tasks, need large amounts of land, power and water. Opposition in countries including the United States and India has focused mainly on those three issues.

Some data centres occupy large sites. Meta's Prometheus site in Ohio measures what was described as a significant part of Manhattan's footprint. In places with weaker property protections, some people have complained that they are being pushed aside for technology construction. The source cited Indian farmers in Andhra Pradesh, reported by the tech news outlet Rest of World in April, as one example.

Energy use is another central concern. Industry tracker Epoch AI put the Prometheus site's power level at 630 megawatts, equivalent to around half a million American family homes. Bloomberg News found in a September 2025 analysis that electricity could be as much as 267 percent more expensive in areas of the United States with high concentrations of data centres.

Off-grid power generation has also drawn objections. The NAACP filed a legal case in April alleging that gas turbines at SpaceXAI's Colossus facility in Memphis are harming mostly Black neighbourhoods with pollutants.

Cooling systems create further pressure, especially over water. IEEE Spectrum reported that data centres use about 0.3 percent of total water supply in the United States, but many facilities are built in areas that already face high water stress. Other complaints include carbon emissions, noise and very low-frequency vibrations.

American campaign group Humans First called for a national day of protest on 18 July against what it called the unaccountable buildout of data centres. It was not clear in advance how many people would take part.

The Soufan Group, a security nonprofit, said in May that there had been a rise in direct threats in the United States against people seen as advancing AI technology. The source cited two incidents this year: a Molotov cocktail attack on OpenAI chief Sam Altman's house and a gun attack on the home of an Indianapolis politician.

Outside the United States, campaigners in Europe have challenged data centre projects over environmental concerns and claims that governments granted improper favours. One case cited in the source is legal action in Spain's Aragon region against a large Amazon data centre buildout.

In Japan, a shortage of space has led to projects being planned in or near residential areas. Some residents have taken legal action, including against a proposed data centre in Inzai, a Tokyo commuter town that already has 10 such facilities.

Governments have started responding in different ways. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this week that his government would pass laws requiring data centres to feed more power into the grid than they draw and to minimise water use. He said Australia could not settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction.

New York became the first US state to impose a general moratorium on new large data centre projects, citing power and water drain. Maine governor Janet Mills vetoed a similar proposed moratorium in April, citing the economic impact.

In Europe, Amsterdam has imposed a moratorium on building new data centres because of space and power concerns. Denmark has placed data centres at the bottom of its priority list for access to electricity, warning of strain on its power grid.