Data center opposition is only going to grow | Jowi Morales
The short version: Even Sam Altman admits the public 'clearly hates' data centers, and $150bn in blocked/delayed projects proves communities are pushing back and winning.
Our Take
When the CEO driving the AI boom concedes people “clearly hate” what he’s building, that’s not a PR slip — it’s an admission that the backlash is real and it's working. Jowi Morales and Isaac Pound at The Tech Report are right to flag the $150 billion figure as a turning point: that's not a handful of angry town-hall meetings, that's real capital getting stalled because residents are asking hard questions about their power bills, their water tables, and the tax breaks handed out before anyone read the fine print.
We've said it before: this fight isn't anti-technology, it's anti-blank-check. Every delayed substation upgrade, every rezoning fight, every ratepayer surcharge headed to a utility commission is a community deciding it wants a seat at the table instead of a press release after the fact. The industry can call it 'opposition.' We call it overdue oversight.
If you want to see what's landing near you — the substations, the water permits, the incentive packages nobody voted on — check our facility map, and if there's a project in your backyard, our take-action page has the tools to make your voice count before the concrete's poured.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The Tech Report, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.