A new report details an increase in data center project cancellations spurred by community resistance. Advocates say their opposition is meant to protect their communities.
At least 25 planned data centers were canceled in 2025, nearly four times as many as in 2024, according to research from Heatmap. Twenty-one of those cancellations took place in the second half of last year.
Elena Schlossberg, executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, said people are done with data center developments that lack public input.
"People aren’t having it," she said. "People are stepping up to protect where they live. They’re stepping up to protect not only where they live now, but also the future of their communities. Who’s going to want to live in this dystopian hellscape with these behemoth buildings, and the constant noise, and then breathing in the diesel fumes?"
Industry proponents argue that data centers are necessary for modern digital infrastructure, and they provide an economic boon to communities through investments and job creation.
Schlossberg warned that local elected leaders that a failure to take heed of public opposition to data centers, because it could mean the end of their political aspirations. She pointed to instances in Prince William County. One county supervisor resigned after facing a recall petition, and was forced to recuse himself from votes on a proposed data center development he would profit from. And in 2023, the county chairwoman lost to a political newcomer in the Democratic primary, largely fueled by opposition to data centers in the community.
"If you deny the people an opportunity to control the future of where they live and you impact their water and their air, and you threaten their ability to pay their electricity bills," Schlossberg said, "you’ll lose your job."
Virginia is home to more than 600 data centers, mostly concentrated in Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. Many of those data centers have been built near residential areas, schools, nursing homes and natural resources.
Source: Public News Service
