Voters’ data center backlash puts cities in the spotlight, experts say

NBC exit polling found that 76% of voters opposed construction of new data centers in their communities, and 56% said data centers were a crucial or major factor in their choice of congressional candidates.

Senators-elect including Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Abdul El-Sayed, D- Mich., are among the candidates who made opposition to data centers a centerpiece of their campaigns.

Gubernatorial candidates who pledged to place moratoriums on data center development were elected in major data center markets including Georgia, Ohio and Texas.

The main message is that people are rejecting the cost that they need to pay for these data centers.”

Slowing down and recalibrating Data center developers are recalibrating to meet the new challenges, the experts told Smart Cities Dive.