What's really behind the data center backlash?
The short version: Ken LaCorte asks why data centers suddenly became a political lightning rod — we say the backlash is overdue, not manufactured.
Our Take
Credit to Ken LaCorte and Elephants in Rooms for putting a mainstream lens on something GridWatch readers already know in their bones: this isn't a mystery backlash, it's math finally catching up to marketing. Data centers went from invisible warehouses to the thing driving up your power bill because the buildout scaled faster than the grids, water systems, and zoning boards meant to handle it ever could. "Nobody noticed" is a symptom, not an excuse.
The real question isn't why people are angry now, it's who signed the deals that let this happen quietly for years — utility commissions approving rate hikes, county boards handing out tax abatements, water authorities signing off on cooling contracts, often with little public notice until the substation shows up next door. That's the actual story behind the "backlash": communities finding out after the fact what was negotiated on their behalf.
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This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Elephants in Rooms - Ken LaCorte, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.