Only 14% of Americans now want a data centre near them — the number was 21% four months ago
The Annenberg Public Policy Center asked 1,320 US adults between 16 June and 19 July whether they would accept a new data centre in their area. Opposition had climbed to 61%, up from 49% in the same survey run in February and March, while support fell from 21% to 14%. The margin of error is 3.5 points, so the swing is far larger than the noise. Gallup, polling separately in March, found 71% opposed and 26% in favour — worse numbers than Americans give a proposed nuclear plant, which 53% oppose.
Why it mattersEvery big story we have run this month — the Texas queue, Nvidia's $500 billion financing alliance, the 191-megawatt lease signed with a bitcoin miner — assumes the buildings actually get built. This is the first hard evidence that the constraint may not be chips or money but the county council. Opposition is not partisan and it is not a fringe: it is majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, and it is rising fast enough to see between two surveys four months apart.
▶ Related video: Why are AI data centres facing a backlash? | The Economist
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