Decoder with Nilay Patel · Thursday, October 1, 2026
Local residents are increasingly becoming a significant obstacle to the rapid development of data centers, forcing developers and hyperscalers to consider how to mitigate community opposition. While previous projects were often approved swiftly, the current environment sees public outcry at commission meetings and a growing network of activists impacting project timelines and political feasibility.
“And so you have something like Stratos where Just no one bothered to tell anyone in Buxelver County that anything was coming.”
“And so I think only now that you have projects hitting you know, real roadblocks with you know, people screaming at their commissioners until they don't rezone area. Like you have like, now the people are an obstacle to speed.”
“More than concerns about AI is something that was animating the protests among the people I spoke with.”