The backlash about data centers might really just be about electricity

Reporting from Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia, the author argues that public opposition to data centers is driven more by electricity than by the culture war framing Big Tech favors, since facilities drawing 54 MW or more strain local grids and force new transmission costs onto utilities. Because AI-scale sites ideally need around 6,000 MW, companies are increasingly building behind-the-meter natural-gas turbines and diesel backup in rural areas, which still affects surrounding communities through air pollution and a lack of local say. The piece notes that industry insiders see their ambitions constrained less by public opposition than by a lack of electricity, and that future sites may go where few people can resist them.