Technology

Data Center Boom Continues Despite Backlash

Daoducquan/Wikimedia Commons

Construction of data centers continues to boom despite the growing public backlash against artificial intelligence-linked construction in American communities.

Data center construction rose by 57%, comparing July ’26 to July ’25, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a frenzied pace despite strong opposition.

Rising energy costs, increased local opposition and heightened state scrutiny of data center construction may start slowing data center construction, Yelena Malyev, a KPMG senior economist, wrote.

Data center construction spending grew by more than $75 billion in July, although it only covered the construction costs for the warehouse-style structures, commonly referred to as shells, per the U.S. Census Bureau. AI labs then fill the shells with servers, processing chips and fiber-optic cables to power AI models. However, data center construction amounts to only 20% of the total cost of a data center, Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm, said.

Americans dislike building data centers in their backyards. Forty-one percent of adults oppose building a data center within three miles of where they live, which grew from 28% compared to January, one Politico poll found. Seventy-five percent of U.S. registered voters either strongly or somewhat disapprove of data centers in their communities, whereas only 15 percent strongly or somewhat approve them, per a Heatmap survey released in August.

President Donald Trump continues to advocate for data centers despite the anti-data center headwinds.

“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in late August. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!”

The president believes his administration needs to make the case for them, a senior Trump administration official told Politico.

“He looks at the polling. He looks at what people are saying. Polling isn’t necessarily great on data centers, but it’s incumbent upon us to explain our position. I think that’s part of what he was trying to do,” the senior White House official said.

“Trump is married to data centers no matter what because it’s the only real job creator,” one former Trump administration official explained to the outlet.

Many Republicans up for election, such as Michigan Senate Republican candidate Mike Rogers and Texas Senate Republican nominee Ken Paxton, have distanced themselves amid the anti-data center backlash.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide moratorium on data center construction, pausing construction of 1,800 data centers.

Other parts of Trump’s MAGA coalition believe that tech executives have only themselves to blame for the anti-data center sentiment.

“It’s far deeper than electrical bills — it’s about the ‘Broligarchs’ who overplayed their hand and overstayed their welcome. You stand with them and you stand to lose — in 60 days and in two years,” Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House chief strategist, told Politico.

Democrats have taken a more hawkish approach to data centers, as New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul issued the first statewide moratorium on data centers and Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro established more stringent rules for data center construction. Former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has issued the anti-data sentiment as a bludgeon against Republican Ohio Sen. John Husted.

“Data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck. If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one,” a National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) memo stated in August.

Pro-center groups such as Build American AI plan to deploy tens of millions of dollars across battleground states to convince Americans about the benefits of data centers.

“We can protect ratepayers, safeguard our natural resources, respect the right of communities to decide whether they want to welcome this investment, and still build the infrastructure America needs to lead the world in artificial intelligence,” Build American AI wrote. “The continued build out of data centers and new energy infrastructure must benefit communities first and we will support leaders who advance policies that achieve that goal.”