Dozens of US data center projects worth over $150B stalled or cancelled amid local opposition

At least 48 data center projects worth approximately $156 billion have been blocked or stalled due to local opposition, according to tracking by Data Center Watch and Carbon Direct. The resistance is accelerating fast: project cancellations jumped from 6 in 2024 to 25 in 2025, with more than 20 additional cancellations already logged in early 2026. The NIMBY wave hits silicon Active local opposition groups have surged to 833 across 49 states as of March 2026, united by a common set of complaints: massive electricity consumption, excessive water usage, noise pollution, air quality concerns, and a permitting process many communities describe as opaque. From January 2024 to May 2026, 46 AI data center projects across 20 states, representing investments between $137 billion and $172 billion, were stalled, blocked, or withdrawn entirely. Two cases stand out for their sheer scale. In Arizona, a $14 billion project by Tract was withdrawn outright. In Virginia, a $24.7 billion QTS/Compass project became the target of lawsuits from local residents. Regulators respond with moratoriums New York announced a halt on large new data center facility proposals in July 2026, one of the most aggressi...