AI Data Centers Face Community Resistance Over Power and Water
Surging electricity demand and local resource concerns are fueling opposition as hundreds of new facilities come online across the U.S.
The infrastructure behind artificial intelligence is colliding with community concerns as data center construction accelerates nationwide. More than 3,000 data centers currently operate in the United States, with hundreds more under construction or planned, particularly in Texas and Virginia.
Public sentiment reflects growing unease with this expansion. A May 2026 Gallup poll found 70% of Americans oppose constructing AI data centers in their local communities, signaling a significant challenge for an industry racing to meet surging computational demands.
Why it matters
The tension between AI infrastructure needs and local resource constraints represents a critical bottleneck for the technology industry. As companies deploy increasingly sophisticated AI models, the physical infrastructure required to support them is becoming a political and environmental flashpoint that could shape where and how quickly AI capabilities expand.
Power demand set to double
Data centers have evolved from simple storage facilities into massive computing operations running around the clock. According to Goldman Sachs Research, U.S. data center power demand is forecast to surge from 31 gigawatts in 2025 to 66 gigawatts in 2027—enough electricity to power tens of millions of American homes.
Texas expects to shoulder a significant portion of this new demand, raising questions about grid reliability following the devastating 2021 winter storm. While analysts suggest Texas may be better positioned than other states due to planned generation capacity coming online, environmental groups have raised concerns about the source of that power.
The Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit watchdog organization, reports that at least 74 natural gas-fired power plants are proposed nationwide to supply electricity directly to data centers. Thirty-two are planned in Texas, which the organization estimates could emit more than 287 million tons of greenhouse gases annually if built and operated at maximum capacity—equivalent to adding 61 million gas-powered cars to the road.
Water consumption adds complexity
Water use presents another contentious issue. A 2026 Houston Advanced Research Center analysis estimates Texas data centers could consume between 29 billion and 161 billion gallons of water annually by 2030. The wide range reflects variations in cooling technology, local climate, and energy sources.
Nationwide, researchers estimate data centers consume roughly 228 billion gallons of water annually when including both on-site cooling and electricity generation. Industry representatives note this remains smaller than water use by golf courses (531 billion gallons) or leaking pipes (900 billion gallons).
Yet water distribution is uneven. Even the higher Texas estimate of 161 billion gallons would represent about 2.7% of statewide water use, but impacts concentrate in specific communities where facilities locate.
Rural communities push back
Most Texas data centers are built in rural areas where land costs less, power infrastructure exists, and zoning restrictions are lighter. In Hood County, west of Fort Worth, residents have actively opposed multiple proposed data center projects, concerned about impacts to local water supplies and quality of life.
Near Amarillo, developers have proposed a roughly 5,800-acre AI and data center campus covering approximately nine square miles, illustrating the scale of facilities now under consideration.
The details were first reported by CBS Texas in an examination of data center growth and community response across the state.
This is an original analysis by the Omega editorial team. Source reporting: AI Watch.
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