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A Gallup survey released in May found that "seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local area."
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz called on artificial intelligence and cloud computing data center developers to offer direct cash payments and economic benefits to the local residents hosting their facilities.
One farm owner reportedly turned down a $26 million offer from an AI data center developer, while another couple sold their struggling farm for $22 million, highlighting the lucrative demand for land for data centers.
A Virginia resident is reportedly looking to sell his entire neighborhood for $500 million to data center developers, a move that could significantly alter the local landscape.
Big Tech Turns To Uranium As Data Center Power Demand Soars Big Tech is considering supporting new uranium mining projects as companies need additional reliable power capacity for their huge data center expansion, according to the top executive of Canadian uranium miner NexGen Energy. “It's coming. You've seen it with automakers. These tech companies, they're under an obligation to ensure the hundreds of billions that they are investing in the data centres are going to be powered,” NexGen Energy’s CEO Leigh Curyer said at a Melbourne Mining Club luncheon on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters. As OilPrice reports, NexGen Energy, which is developing Canada’s largest uranium project, Rook I in Saskatchewan, has held early talks with technology companies over potential financing from data center developers, Curyer said. The uranium developer has also discussed long-term uranium supply with data center firms. Yet, potential funding or supply deals will not involve any changes to the control of NexGen Energy, the chief executive told Reuters. Global electricity demand increased by 3% annually in 2025, following growth of 4.4% in 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its recent Electricity 2026 report. Between 2026 and 2030, the annual average growth rate would be 3.6%, driven by higher consumption from industry, electric vehicles (EVs), air conditioning, and data centers, according to the agency. Artificial intelligence, data centers, and advanced manufacturing support the return to growth in power demand in advanced economies, the IEA said. U.S. electricity demand rose by 2.1% in 2025 and is expected to grow by nearly 2% annually through 2030. The rapid expansion of data centers will drive half of the increase, the agency noted. The U.S. is backing nuclear power generation to help meet rising electricity demand. Nuclear energy will be one of the winners of the U.S. AI and data center boom, as Microsoft and other hyperscalers have been looking to purchase zero-carbon electricity to power up their data centers, which are consuming growing amounts of electricity. Tyler Durden Wed, 02/18/2026 - 11:45
The electrical equipment manufacturer anticipates unprecedented sales growth as a substantial backlog of orders from data center developers fuels expansion in power distribution solutions.
Pennsylvania's Governor is advocating for increased accountability from data center developers, raising questions about their responsibilities.
Owners of data centers are looking to capitalize on the massive demand for computing power by selling ownership stakes, a race only the largest private equity funds can afford to join.
A woman is engaged in a legal and public battle to prevent data center developers from acquiring her mother's home, highlighting concerns over property rights and urban expansion.
A former Trump trade adviser has indicated that a future administration might compel data center developers, such as Meta, to absorb the rising costs associated with their energy consumption and infrastructure strain.
Facing grid connectivity delays, many data center operators are installing on-site natural gas generators as a temporary bridge, though economic factors may encourage long-term reliance on these assets.
Despite growing local opposition and state restrictions against data centers, a Missouri farmer has controversially invited developers to bid on his land, believing it could boost rural economies.
Data center developers are facing challenges connecting to the power grid, leading to proposals for smaller, localized "backyard" data centers to address AI's energy demands.
Google executives meet with officials at a Google data center in Midlothian, Texas. Fortune via Reuters Connect Northern Virginia is home to the world's largest data center market. That could soon change, as Big Tech ramps up data center construction across the US. West Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Ohio are emerging as key markets. The old saying "Everything is bigger in Texas" now applies to data centers. The Lone Star State is on track to unseat Virginia as the world's largest data center market by 2030, new research from Jones Lang LaSalle shows. The shift indicates how drastically the data center development boom has reshaped the US's digital infrastructure map and the landscape as a whole. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta plan to spend more than $600 billion on AI infrastructure expansion in 2026 — a number so dizzyingly high that Wall Street is on high alert for signs of an AI bubble. More than half of all data center construction in the US now happens outside the industry's traditional hubs, according to JLL's North America Data Center Report — Year-End 2025. Tennessee, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Texas are now considered the top emerging markets for data centers. Texas alone has 6.5 gigawatts of data center capacity under construction. That amount of power is roughly equivalent to more than three Hoover Dams or over 17,000 Tesla Model 3s when using the US Department of Energy's standard, and it accounts for about one-fifth of the 35 gigawatts of data center capacity the US added to its pipeline. That 35 gigawatts is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the UK or Italy, and adding it would nearly double the existing data center capacity in the US, according to JLL. Part of Texas's appeal is its sprawl. The state houses some of the most ambitious data center projects in the country. Oracle and OpenAI's flagship Stargate data center is in Abilene, Google is planning a $40 billion expansion in West Texas, and Meta is building a massive new site in El Paso, just to name a few. Texas also has abundant energy resources, which is good news for data center developers. The AI boom has driven electricity demand to new heights and strained the nation's power grid. In Texas, several data centers — including Stargate — are being built alongside on-site power plants. Northern Virginia has been the data center industry's central hub for more than 15 years, going back to the early days of cloud computing. That has changed rapidly as Big Tech spreads out across the country in search of available power, cheap land, and the best tax incentive packages for the coming wave of AI data centers. Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ethomas@businessinsider.com or on Signal at 929-524-6964. Read the original article on Business Insider