Communities across the United States are rising up against the tech industry’s plans to build massive data centers that consume voluminous local water supplies. The data centers are needed to feed an insatiable artificial intelligence machine.
More than $60 billion in data center projects have been blocked or delayed by this growing wave of local, bipartisan opposition. That’s according to a report from Data Center Watch.
“What was once quiet infrastructure is now a national flashpoint – and communities are pushing back,” the group says.
Just last week the Tucson City Council voted unanimously to reject the building of Project Blue, a massive data center tied to Amazon.
Opposition to data center development cuts across political lines, the Data Center Watch report found.
Republican officials often raise concerns about tax incentives and energy grid strain, while Democrats tend to focus on environmental impacts and resource consumption. This cross-party resistance defies expectations and marks a rare area of bipartisan alignment in infrastructure politics.
And AI infrastructure isn’t always welcome.
Despite the post-ChatGPT enthusiasm for AI, communities are not universally embracing the physical infrastructure behind it.
Even when promised jobs and tax revenue, local residents often push back against data centers — challenging the prevailing narrative that tech development is always a local economic win.
“Where communities once rallied against factories, warehouses, or retail sprawl, they’re now opposing data centers,” the report found. “From noise and water usage to power demands and property values, server farms have become a new target in the broader backlash against large-scale development. The landscape of local resistance is shifting – and data centers are squarely in the crosshairs.”
But data center opponents in West Virginia have been hobbled by a law (HB 2014) that was passed earlier this year by the state legislature. The law would dramatically limit local legal jurisdiction over sites with microgrids or high impact data centers and it would unconstitutionally seize locally levied property tax dollars that would have otherwise gone to school districts and other public services to the state for use toward other priorities.
Nikki Forrester of the group Tucker United, formed in opposition to the data center planned in central West Virginia, says that the law “basically stripped all of the power away from local residents. They will have no say about the development of these types of projects at the local level.”
“Here in Tucker County, in April 2025, a friend of mine, Pamela Moe, was reading the Parsons Advocate and noticed an announcement by a company, Fundamental Data, which is based in Purcellville, Virginia,” Forrester told Corporate Crime Reporter in an interview last week. “The company applied for an air quality permit with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for a natural gas and diesel fired power plant. That tipped off everyone in the community here to look into it and see what’s going on.”
“She sent that announcement around to people in the area, including our local elected officials. And to my knowledge, the elected officials – including the Mayor of Davis, the Mayor of Thomas, our county commissioners – had no idea that this project was even being considered here. There has been some back and forth about what this power plant is going to be used for.”
“In the beginning, the company wouldn’t admit that it was for data centers. But then there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that reported that the company said that this power plant would be used to power up to 10,000 acres of data centers, which would make it one of the largest data center complexes in the world.”
What exactly are data centers?
“Giant warehouses full of computers. They operate 24/7. When you think of your internet use, we think of our photos and information and things being stored in the cloud. But the cloud is actually physical infrastructures like data centers somewhere. They are supporting this massive amount of information we are constantly using and transferring digitally.”
“Because of the big boom in artificial intelligence, there is this increased demand for data centers and energy. It’s not just our county and West Virginia, but places around the world are grappling with – how do we support this increased demand and support for data centers? And how do we build them out and where do we put them? And unfortunately, many of these projects are being proposed for rural communities.”
Is this data center actually going to be built in Tucker County?
“It will span Tucker and Grant counties. But the power plant they want to build will be located just one mile from our local elementary school between the towns of Davis and Thomas in Tucker County.”
What fuel are they using for the power plant?
“Natural gas and they say they will use diesel as a backup. But there will be 30 million gallons of diesel fuel stored on site. And according to the permit, they will be running diesel about 30 percent of the time.”
Has the state approved the air permit?
“Not yet. The air permit is currently under review by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. They have had two public hearings on it in June and July. Over 1,000 public comments were submitted. The DEP is currently reviewing those comments. At the public hearing at the end of July, a citizen asked the DEP – how many applications do you get per year and how many do you approve? And they said – we get 300 to 400 applications every year. And they didn’t deny a single one of them.”
“So, it seems unlikely that this permit will be outright rejected.”
A law was passed in West Virginia earlier this year that preempted any local action to stop these plants.
“Yes, Governor Patrick Morrisey pushed this bill – HB 2014. It tries to fast track microgrid and data center development. The power plant we’re talking about in Tucker County wouldn’t be connected to the grid at all.”
“The bill as it is written says that local governments have no ability to affect the development of these microgrid and data center complexes. And so we wouldn’t be able to do any zoning, permitting, request to plant trees, noise regulation or light pollution regulation. They basically stripped all of the power away from local residents. They will have no say about the development of these types of projects at the local level.”
There wasn’t much reporting when the law passed.
“But more recently, there has been more reporting on it. It’s starting to gain more coverage. But it was introduced on the last day people could introduce legislation. They claim that we have to be competitive in this AI marketplace. Despite my many calls, I have not been able to get in touch with my state legislators. I want to know why they passed this and why they think it’s a good deal for West Virginia.”
What does the local community where you live think of this?
“Certainly in Davis and Thomas there is strong opposition to this project. A huge part of it is that the company has not been transparent at all about their plans. The air permit application was heavily redacted. They claim it is confidential business information. We filed an appeal of the DEP’s decision to protect that confidential information, but we have yet to see anything. The company hasn’t come down and spoken with us at all.”
“The community has been very concerned about this project. The more we learn about the air pollutants and the amount of water data centers use, the potential of having our aquifers drained, or having our water resources impacted by a project like this, the more concerned we become. And it’s a quality of life issue also. It’s dark and quiet and peaceful here. We live in a rural place surrounded by public lands. How will all of that be impacted by this massive power plant and data center complex?”
“So, yes there is strong opposition to it. And we have started a grassroots coalition opposing this project. It’s called Tucker United and it has hundreds of members.”
“Some people believe the data center will bring jobs and revenues, but we have no commitments on either one of those. The bill also says that 70 percent of the property taxes gets diverted to the state. The original bill said 100 percent of the property taxes gets diverted. And much of that would go toward reducing the income tax. They want to get rid of the state income tax.”
“It feels like it’s a power grab where they want to get rid of any local control, take the money and leave West Virginians to suffer.”
[For the complete q/a format Interview with Nikki Forrester, see 39 Corporate Crime Reporter 32(14), August 11, 2025, print edition only.]