Local opposition is putting pressure on U.S. AI data-center permitting, even as construction continued in Q2 2026. In a report published Nov. 8, Stocktwits News Desk said JPMorgan Asset Management strategist Stephanie Aliaga sees projects from 2028 onward as most exposed to uncertainty over permits, power availability and financing. Stocktwits News Desk’s report, carried by Yahoo Finance, also attributed to Aliaga the view that opposition could prolong negotiations, raise costs and delay permits.
Why projects from 2028 onward face more uncertainty
Aliaga’s assessment concerns a future development wave, not a measured outcome for every project. The pressures she identified overlap with local approval disputes and access to power. Separately, Michigan representative-elect Will Lawrence said he would seek a federal moratorium on data-center construction, a proposal NeoTeo covered in earlier reporting.
Gallup found opposition across party lines
In a survey conducted March 2–18, 2026, Gallup found that 71% of U.S. adults opposed building an AI data center in their local area: 48% strongly opposed and 23% somewhat opposed. Another 27% favored local construction. Gallup’s report found strong opposition in every major party group it reported.
| Party affiliation | Strongly opposed |
| Democrats | 56% |
| Independents | 48% |
| Republicans | 39% |
These party figures measure strong opposition, rather than total opposition.
Residents cite resource, cost and quality-of-life concerns
In an open-ended web survey in April 2026, Gallup found that opponents mentioned resource effects (50%), quality-of-life concerns (22%), costs (20%) and pollution (16%). Respondents could mention more than one concern. Among supporters, 66% mentioned local economic benefits and 55% mentioned job opportunities.
A local resident interviewed by 60 Minutes put the household-cost concern as a question: “My biggest gripe is why do we have to pay more for electricity when they’re the ones using it?” The comment is one resident’s view. Gallup’s survey also recorded concerns about water, energy, noise, local bills and traffic.
Moratoriums measure permitting pauses
By Oct. 28, Wood Mackenzie had counted more than 400 state and local data-center moratoriums across 42 states since January 2026, compared with 45 measures over 2023–2025. Its U.S. pipeline update says 92% of the moratoriums target land-use or zoning approvals, with average durations of six to 12 months. The measures affected 18% of sites in Wood Mackenzie’s tracker and put more than 100 GW of planned capacity under scrutiny. The count is of moratorium measures, not a tally of canceled facilities.
Moratorium counts track approval pauses; gigawatts under construction track projects already being built.
Construction continued alongside local constraints
Wood Mackenzie reported that the disclosed U.S. data-center pipeline exceeded 430 GW in Q2 2026, with about 59% under active development. Nearly 80 GW was under construction, compared with 44 GW at the end of Q1. The disclosed pipeline also gained 54 GW in Q2, up 29% year over year.
In September 2026, Texas paused new data-center permits and audited its existing pipeline, Wood Mackenzie reported. More than 60 GW of planned projects in the firm’s tracker came under scrutiny in connection with those actions.
