The AI data center boom is colliding with cities scarred by big industry
The AI data center boom is colliding with cities scarred by big industry. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Close Image Credits:Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch AI The AI data center boom is colliding with cities scarred by big industry Amanda Silberling 2:47 PM PDT · September 15, 2026 Across the country, Americans are debating how their lives might change if new AI data centers are built in their backyards.
What happened
Residents across the United States have pushed back against new data center construction, particularly those living in cities and towns with finite resources. The attacks have raised questions about the security of future data center developments in the Gulf region, which has looked to capitalize on the surge in infrastructure demand tied to the artificial intelligence boom. The combined impact of the data center boom and rising LNG exports could cause prices to soar. National outcry against data center construction has spread to Philadelphia, where officials suggested possible construction in a neighborhood already impacted by a now-defunct oil refinery.
Data center companies and their customers are promising new jobs and economic growth, but that pitch hasn’t won over a majority of Americans who oppose data center construction in their area, often over environmental and energy concerns. “From that point, I was all the way in. ” Shawmar Pitts (Philly Thrive) at the No Data Centers in Philly rallyImage Credits:Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch Pitts, who is now the managing co-director of that same organization, is among those leading the charge for a data center moratorium in Philadelphia.
Data center opposition from local residents isn’t unique to Philadelphia.
The wider picture
“We don’t want data centers,” Philly Thrive board president Sonya Sanders said at a rally on Monday at Philadelphia’s City Hall. I believe he would be here today if he wasn’t silently murdered, because it was the pursuit of profit that killed him. ” Image Credits:Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch A Philadelphia data center may not have as severe an environmental impact as the now-defunct Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery, which processed up to 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
S. data centers will consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined. Burning one cubic foot of natural gas releases the equivalent of 60 grams of carbon dioxide, and additional data center demand is expected to generate an extra 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution each day, which is about 12% of all present day U. “A typical data center planned in Pennsylvania has hundreds of diesel engines that spew air pollution, and even if they’re supposedly reserved for emergencies, the government has already said that the data center should use those rather than drawing from an overstressed electrical grid during some heat waves,” said Clean Air Council attorney Annie Fox at the rally.
“We can expect that to get more frequent… Fossil fuel-hungry data centers will worsen climate change, making those heatwaves more frequent and severe. ” Annie Fox (Clean Air Council) at No Data Centers in Philly rallyImage Credits:Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch Concerned citizens across the country do seem to be getting through to their officials. “These data centers can only be built, should only be built in places that want them. ” Data center moratoriums have also been approved in a number of U.
The purpose of these moratoriums is often to allow city officials to collect more information about the potential impacts of building data centers.
What has been reported
“I’m worried about surveillance and the fact that they’re going to have access to information they have no business knowing, and I’m concerned that they’re going to be using water and electricity that takes away from the people and the neighborhoods who need it. ” More than 100 people attended the kick-off rally for the No Data Centers in Philly campaign on Monday, chanting loudly in hopes that city council members would hear them from inside their offices at City Hall.
Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting ClubPROLivestreamMenuKey PointsThe House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing rising utility costs related to data center development. The action comes as data center backlash grows into an important election issue ahead of the 2026 midterms, in which Republicans are hoping to defend narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. The legislation is expected to get broad, bipartisan support, though some environmental and anti-data center groups have argued it doesn't go far enough to rein in developers.
An aerial view of an Equinix data center in Ashburn, Virginia, on Aug. Anna Moneymaker | Getty ImagesThe House could vote as early as Tuesday night on a bill that aims to curb data center-related utility bill rate hikes, as backlash to the proliferating facilities grows ahead of the 2026 midterm election. The bipartisan bill — dubbed the Ratepayer Protection Act — would establish standards that state regulators could adopt to require artificial intelligence data centers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more to cover the costs of building new power sources, transmission lines and other infrastructure, rather than passing those costs down to consumers.
It requires a two-thirds vote to pass and is expected to garner broad, bipartisan support, as members of both parties are eager to show voters they've taken steps to rein in data centers before returning to their districts to campaign.
What happens next
"Data centers have sprung up as a crucial issue in the 2026 elections, in which Republicans are trying to defend narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. A cross-partisan, grassroots movement opposing the facilities — which store data, process information and have helped fuel the AI boom — has cropped up around the country, prompting elected officials to come out in favor of more stringent regulation. States and localities have primary authority over individual projects, but the House bill would seek to create a set of guardrails that states could choose to adopt to address one of the top concerns of residents who live near operational or proposed data center projects: higher utility costs.
Ratepayers should not have to subsidize wealthy corporations' growing energy demands, especially from AI data centers," Castor said in a statement in June unveiling the proposal. But groups like the League of Conservation Voters say the measure doesn't go far enough to address their data center concerns. "With only a weak directive to states to voluntarily consider adopting cost protections against the energy costs of data centers for ratepayers, state regulators could ultimately choose to ignore this bill," Sara Chieffo, senior vice president of government affairs at LCV, said in a statement released ahead of the vote.
Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, said in a statement on Monday that the legislation would conversely speed construction of new data centers and "provide questionable means for companies to claim they are paying for their own power.
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across techcrunch.com, cnbc.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.