Public backlash to the growth of data centers is rising, prompting local and state governments to seek moratoriums and new regulations on the facilities.
President Donald Trump favors the rapid buildout of data centers to advance artificial intelligence technology. But members of the public are worried that data centers can drive up electricity costs, use up the water supply, and create noise.
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A Gallup poll conducted in early March found that seven out of 10 people oppose constructing data centers for AI in their area, with 48% strongly opposed to the idea.
Many communities and states are demanding more transparency from developers seeking to build data centers or seeking to slow down the process.
As of February, more than 300 bills related to data centers had been filed across 30 states, according to Multistate, a local and state government relations firm that tracks data center policy. That is a large increase from the entirety of 2025, when fewer than 200 bills addressing data center issues were introduced across 40-plus states.
Much of the public interest relates to data centers’ use of electricity. Data centers in 2024 consumed about 183 terawatt-hours of electricity, according to Pew Research, which found that, by 2030, electricity consumption is projected to be 133% higher than the 2024 level.
Some states and cities are now weighing a ban on the construction of data centers. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that, as of June 2, 14 states have introduced legislation this past year to ban data center development.
New York legislators earlier this month passed the Responsible Data Center Development Act, which would place a one-year moratorium on permits for “large data centers,” which the bill describes as facilities with peak demand of 20 megawatts or more. The bill still awaits the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
“We’ve been looking at this for a while, even before the moratorium came out from the legislature, because we’re under enormous pressure to make some decisions on these projects,” Hochul said earlier this month.
However, some proposed bans on data centers have failed to pass. Maine legislators earlier this year passed a bill to ban data centers until November 2027, but Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) vetoed the bill because it did not include an exemption for a project under development. Maine would have been the first state to issue a moratorium on data centers.
State legislators have also sought to regulate data centers’ energy use and economic impact.
Multistate noted that California last October enacted a bill that would direct the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct a report on the impact data centers have on the grid and on utility ratepayers. Ohio enacted a bill in March to allow for alternative rate plans for natural gas companies to serve large-load customers. Utah in March also enacted a law that places restrictions on local tax-increment subsidies for large load data centers.
Beyond concerns regarding electricity and utility costs, communities have been increasingly worried about data centers’ water consumption.
According to the International Energy Agency, a 100 megawatt data center could consume roughly 2 million liters, which is roughly 530,000 gallons per day. Many states have also introduced bills requiring data centers to report water usage.
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For instance, Illinois legislators introduced the Protecting Our Water, Energy, and Ratepayers (POWER) Act, which requires data centers to pay for their own energy generation and mandates transparency and permitting requirements for water usage and consumption. California state legislators have also introduced a bill that would prohibit local agencies from approving a permit for the construction or expansion of a data center that increases the maximum peak water use.
