{"id":1653,"date":"2026-08-24T13:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:41:02","slug":"growing-opposition-to-data-centers-halts-projects-nationwide-may-impact-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653","title":{"rendered":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Growing public and political opposition to the prevalence of data centers is causing stoppages of data center projects and leading many politicians to rethink their support of the issue as midterm elections approach.<\/p>\n

Read more Iranian Hackers Reportedly Shut Down British Power Plant for Four Days<\/a><\/p>\n

According to The Daily Caller, lawmakers in New York and Texas, for example, have forced stoppages of data center projects, while other states, such as Pennsylvania, have issued more restrictions on data center construction.<\/p>\n

Support for data centers has generally plummeted, as critics have linked them to higher utility bills \u2014 reflecting extraordinary water and energy usage\u00a0\u2014 being experienced by local communities.<\/p>\n

\n

My directive has halted up to 1,800 data center projects.<\/p>\n

I established guidelines & guardrails to protect Texas communities:<\/p>\n

\u2714\ufe0fData centers must not take water needed by local communities,
\n\u2714\ufe0fThey must not take power needed by the Texas power grid,
\n\u2714\ufe0fThey must lower the cost\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 20, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nTexas Governor Greg Abbott told ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d that the backlash stems partly from the sheer speed of the buildout, and partly from developers moving into communities without first gaining support.<\/p>\n

Abbott said data center companies have \u201cdug their own grave\u201d and added, \u201cGaining the support of people in local communities is essential. That\u2019s why I am now coming in as governor saying listen, if you\u2019re a data center and you want to operate in Texas, you have to first get the approval of those in local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Report: Taxpayers Funding $230 Million in Federal Grants Tied to \u2018Intersectionality\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Abbott is joined by Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both of whom have imposed new restrictions on the data center boom in their states, according to Axios.<\/p>\n

Newsweek reports that resource strains is a major concern driving public opposition since\u00a0 AI data centers consume vast amounts of electricity and millions of gallons of water for cooling, threatening to overwhelm local public infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Voters also say they are highly concerned that the massive energy draw will cause energy shortages and jack up utility rates for residential ratepayers. Many facilities have been approved without prior public awareness or transparency, leaving residents feeling ignored by tech developers. Growing frustration over public funds going to tech giants through tax subsidy rollbacks has prompted eight states to roll back data center tax incentives, according to Politico.<\/p>\n

According to an Annenberg Public Policy Center\u00a0survey last month, 61% of Americans now oppose construction of a new data center in their area, up from 49% in March.<\/p>\n

Read more Newsom Signs \u2018Stop Nick Shirley Act\u2019 to Stop Investigations Into Immigration \u2018Service\u2019 Provider Fraud<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing public and political opposition to the prevalence of data centers is causing stoppages of data center projects and leading many politicians to rethink\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Growing public and political opposition to the prevalence of data centers is causing stoppages of data center projects and leading many politicians to rethink\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Urban Economy news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad\"},\"headline\":\"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Big Tech\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653\",\"name\":\"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?p=1653#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Urban Economy news\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbaneconomynews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news","og_description":"Growing public and political opposition to the prevalence of data centers is causing stoppages of data center projects and leading many politicians to rethink\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653","og_site_name":"Urban Economy news","article_published_time":"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad"},"headline":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms","datePublished":"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653"},"wordCount":450,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg","articleSection":["Big Tech"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653","url":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653","name":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms - Urban Economy news","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-24T13:41:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/71742127f687fb61119d199c4b06f78b.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1653#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Growing Opposition to Data Centers Halts Projects Nationwide, May Impact Midterms"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/","name":"Urban Economy news","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be7753cb687f443815cc81e8407f68ad","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}