NIMBYism Just Blocked $130B in Data Centers in One Quarter
Local opposition halted or delayed at least 75 data-center projects worth roughly $130 billion in Q1 — about equal to all of last year's blocked construction. The backlash is bipartisan and rooted in fears beyond energy and water: 71% of Americans worry AI will cut jobs, per Pew. So tech giants are now buy-offs, from Meta's $1 billion community fund to OpenAI's community pledges in Georgia. One group still winning: the 216,000 construction workers the buildout has hired since 2022.