A new Data & Society report examines why opposition to AI data centers is growing in Pennsylvania, pointing to concerns about electricity costs, property values, environmental effects, local decision-making and trust in developers. The research comes as AI companies plan trillions of dollars in data center spending while several national surveys show that more than 60% of Americans support limits on new facilities, particularly near their communities.
Local opposition is already affecting projects. Data Center Watch reported that at least 45 U.S. data center projects worth nearly $68 billion were blocked or delayed by local opposition in the second quarter of 2026.
Researchers Studied Pennsylvania Communities for 18 Months
The Data & Society report is based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with 44 Pennsylvania residents between 2024 and 2026. Rather than measuring the environmental or economic effects of data centers, the researchers studied how residents experience debates around their construction.
The researchers found that industry messaging describing AI infrastructure growth as inevitable often conflicted with residents’ own views. They connected that skepticism with Pennsylvania’s history of coal mining, oil production, steel manufacturing and fracking, industries that brought repeated periods of industrial development and disruption.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro headlined a July 2025 summit that highlighted $90 billion in planned data center and AI infrastructure investment. A year later, he signed an order that added requirements for data center projects and removed them from a regulatory fast-track program.
Trade unions remain an important source of support because large construction projects can create jobs and help unions add members. Researchers noted, however, that completed data centers generally require fewer permanent workers than they do during construction.
Costs, Development Practices and Trust Drive Opposition
The researchers found that opposition comes from people with different political and economic concerns. Some object to development generally, while others focus on AI companies, water use, emissions, public health, property values or the possibility that rising electricity demand could increase household power bills.
Recent AP-NORC polling also found growing concern about AI’s environmental effects, electricity prices, power outages and water supplies. The survey found that 53% of Americans were extremely or very concerned about AI’s environmental impact, up from 41% in 2025.
Residents also raised concerns about how developers deal with local governments, including the use of non-disclosure agreements and limited public discussion before projects advance. Researchers described the resulting opposition as “post-partisan,” with people who hold different political views sometimes organizing around the same local projects.
The report also examines industry-backed campaigns supporting data center construction. It points to the Data Center Coalition, which has created promotional sites including Pennsylvania Connects and spent at least $19,000 lobbying Pennsylvania’s state government last year.
Data & Society researcher Livia Garofalo said residents are trying to reconcile claims about AI’s economic importance with their concerns about the technology and the infrastructure supporting it. Co-author Maia Woluchem said many Pennsylvanians closely follow town meetings and become wary when major technology companies or developers appear while local officials become less willing to discuss proposed projects.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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