National poll finds 75% of Americans oppose data centers near their homes

A new national poll found that 75% of Americans would oppose a data center near their home, which is a stark change from last year.

The Heatmap Pro poll surveyed more than 2,000 voters and found the change happened across age, gender, income, party and geography.

In Georgia, the backlash of data centers remains a central issue.

Amy Sharma is the executive director of the nonprofit Science for Georgia, which tracks data centers across the state. She said the lack of transparency surrounding deals with data center companies contributes to the growing opposition.

“These deals are all done in secret and then they just show up in the city council, and the economic development authority has been negotiating in secret for, like, 18 months, and then they’re like, ‘Surprise, here it is.’ And that is just pissing people off,” Sharma said.

The poll showed that 43% of Republicans surveyed opposed data centers while 65% of Independents and 75% of Democrats opposed the facilities.

More than 530 counties nationwide have instituted restrictions or bans on data centers, and several cities in Georgia have issued data center moratoriums while they research the impacts of the facilities on their communities. 

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to promote the benefits of data centers while both gubernatorial candidates have called for a pause on new construction.

Sharma said the lack of transparency around projects makes it harder for communities to make informed decisions.

“Can you tell me how much water it’s going to use? And they say, ‘That’s a trade secret.’ So we need to get rid of these NDAs and provide a lot more transparency, and I think that’ll ratchet things down a little,” Sharma said.

Science for Georgia is tracking 81 proposed data center projects in the state, which they estimate would need between 29-58 gigawatts of power. Georgia Power is currently only authorized to provide 14 gigawatts. Only 25 of the proposed data centers have disclosed their power needs.