If you thought people were worried about nuclear plants in their backyard, wait until you hear about AI data centers.
A new Gallup survey published Wednesday found that 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their local area. That's not just a slim majority—it's a wall of resistance. And here's the kicker: opposition to AI data centers is significantly higher than opposition to nuclear power plants, which sits at 53%. Yes, people are more comfortable with potential radioactive material nearby than with the humming, power-hungry buildings that power your ChatGPT queries.
Gallup reports that 48% of Americans are strongly opposed to local data centers. The opposition is strongest among those worried about environmental quality, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to feel strongly, and women registering higher levels of strong opposition than men. The concerns? Electricity use, water consumption, pollution, noise, and—perhaps most tangibly—rising utility bills.
This is a problem for the tech giants that are pouring billions into AI infrastructure. Earlier this year, Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) helped push U.S. data center construction to a record $45.1 billion, surpassing office construction for the first time. The Kobeissi Letter notes that data center construction has surged 228% since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022. AI demand is reshaping commercial real estate and infrastructure investment in ways we haven't seen since the dot-com boom.
Counterpoint Research estimates the global data center CPU market could expand to roughly $80 billion by 2028 as AI workloads shift toward inference and real-time processing. That's intensifying competition among chipmakers like Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Arm Holdings (ARM), while also driving advanced manufacturing demand for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM).
But the rapid expansion is creating a backlash that could slow things down. Last month, Maine Gov. Janet Mills vetoed the nation's first proposed statewide moratorium on new data center construction. The state is still moving toward studying the sector's impact on infrastructure and energy systems, but the veto shows how contentious this issue has become.
Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently described Microsoft (MSFT)'s Wisconsin facility as the "world's most powerful AI datacenter" as the company accelerates its multibillion-dollar global expansion. But even Microsoft can't escape the math: Goldman Sachs estimates global data center electricity demand could rise 220% by 2030. That's a lot of power, and a lot of potential for local friction.
The tension between AI expansion and local concerns isn't going away. Tech companies are racing to build the infrastructure for the next computing revolution, but they're finding that the hardest part isn't the technology—it's the neighbors.
