A nationwide race to build AI-ready data centers is colliding with local resistance over energy, water and land use. In Archbald, Pa., residents have organized against multiple proposed facilities, citing fears of higher utility bills and an altered town character. The pushback comes even as operators such as Digital Realty argue the sector—now valued in the hundreds of billions—underpins breakthroughs in medicine and other fields, and as more than 4,000 U.S. data centers are already online. The political split is widening: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are backing a federal moratorium until Congress enacts tougher AI rules, while President Trump and many Republicans champion the buildout as critical to U.S. competitiveness. Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick says projects must deliver jobs and environmental safeguards through explicit community “covenants.” With developers chasing sites rich in land, water and power, communities from Pennsylvania to Virginia’s Data Center Alley face a central question: how to capture economic gains without overwhelming the grid—or their neighborhoods.
Related articles:
Data center
Loudoun County, Virginia
NIMBY
Digital Realty
Bernie Sanders
