Grassroots opposition blocked $130 billion in US data center projects in the first three months of 2026
TL;DR
Anti-data center groups doubled to 833 across 49 US states and disrupted 75 projects worth $130bn in Q1 2026, matching all of 2025 in three months.
Grassroots opposition to data center construction in the United States has reached a scale that is starting to reshape where and whether the AI industry can build. A new report from Data Center Watch, a tracker maintained by AI research firm 10a Labs, found that activists blocked or delayed at least 75 projects worth a combined $130 billion in the first quarter of 2026. According to NBC News, that is the most disruptions recorded in a three-month period since the group began tracking in 2023.
The pace represents a structural shift, not a spike. The total number and value of projects disrupted in Q1 roughly matched the full-year total for 2025, according to the report. The number of active anti-data center groups more...
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