For officials hoping to quickly build data centers to propel America’s AI ambitions, facing the mounting opposition as the playbook has come together has been tough, NBC News reported. Where before, officials were criticized for quietly signing deals without discussing construction with nearby residents, now they’re encountering backlash before any deal is in the books, Data Center Watch found.

“In some cases,” researchers reported, “opposition mobilized before any project was officially filed, the mere rumor of a data center was enough to trigger organized resistance.”

It's clear that communities now have an effective playbook to block data center construction. This week, researchers flagged the first quarter of 2026 as producing the "most blocked and delayed data center projects on record," NBC News reported.

Data Center Watch, a project from AI intelligence firm 10a Labs that tracks data center fights around the US, reported that protestors "blocked or delayed at least 75 projects nationwide worth about $130 billion from January through March," NBC News reported

That's "the most in a three-month period since the group began tracking in 2023," and it shouldn't be parsed as "a cyclical spike," the researchers said. Instead, there's been a "structural shift," as "communities have internalized an opposition playbook, legislative sessions introduced formal regulatory uncertainty, and the number of active opposition groups more than doubled to 833 across 49 states," researchers said.

The political momentum behind data center protests is expected to influence the upcoming midterm elections, with both parties increasingly sympathizing with resistance as opposition intensifies.