Big Tech faces a number of challenges with the expansion of data centers, including getting the energy to power them. But if the impacts of renewable energy opposition are any indication, the local opposition to data centers is going to become a formidable opponent to the expansion of artificial intelligence. Renewable energy requires large amounts of land, and unlike other energy sources, it requires a lot of new acreage in rural areas. Local opposition has been identified as the biggest impediment by Big Wind and Big Solar to the buildout of renewable energy.
Become fanatical, even violent
The opposition to data centers is not only rising rapidly, in some cases it’s become fanatical. An opponent of data centers fired shots into an Indiana councilman’s house and left a note reading “No Data Centers.” The councilman supported a development commission’s decision to approve a rezoning petition allowing for a data center to be developed, PBS reported.
Multiple comments on a CBS story posted on X about the shooting expressed sympathy for the attacker’s opposition. The organizations opposing the data center condemned the violence and said it doesn’t reflect their advocacy.
Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.
