Data center cancellations now total at least $260 billion in planned U.S. projects this year, all after sustained local opposition. The AI building boom just ran into a stubborn obstacle: the people who live next door. The numbers come from exclusive data from Heatmap Pro, which Quartz highlighted.
That is not a rounding error. Roughly half of it, about $130 billion, died in the three months ending Sept. 30.
In dollar terms, that single quarter topped every data center project canceled in all of 2025.
Data center opposition is winning more often than you’d think
Heatmap says about half of all projects that met local backlash this year ended up canceled. Most of those died because they could not win a local permit, or because town and county officials turned hostile. Hundreds of U.S. counties and towns now keep a ban or moratorium on the books.
Here is one example, from Quartz. In late June, Karis Critical dropped its rezoning plan for Plum Farms, a site near Barrington Hills and Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Residents of three towns showed up against it, and the developer walked away within weeks.
Heatmap did not name most of the projects or the people who stopped them, so most of the list stays out of public view.
The reasons residents give are familiar: higher electricity bills, heavy water use and pollution. An August Heatmap Pro and Embold Research poll found 75% of Americans would oppose a data center built near them, per Heatmap Pro. Mitch Jones of Food and Water Watch called the cancellations proof of “vast and growing grassroots opposition.”
Why canceled data centers matter to your wallet and your town
Here’s the thing: the biggest tech companies expect to spend more than $800 billion this year on data centers and AI. Those buildings have to go somewhere. Every canceled site is a reminder that “somewhere” now needs a yes from the neighbors. The money is also at risk elsewhere, as Nvidia, AMD and CoreWeave sink as the AI trade hits a wall.
It also reaches your power bill and your local tax base. Data centers pull huge amounts of electricity, which is exactly why residents worry. Backers argue the same projects bring jobs and investment.
ITIF estimates the canceled projects could cost more than 2 million jobs and $294 billion in economic activity. Those figures are modeled estimates, not measured losses.
Treat the headline number with some care, though. It comes from one data source, and the project list behind it is not public. Heatmap says its count likely runs low, because only about 60% of projects disclose their cost.
Other trackers use different yardsticks. Data Center Watch counts projects blocked or delayed, not canceled. It found $68 billion in the second quarter, so nobody should add the two numbers together.
Its own report also warns that blaming delays only on local opposition oversimplifies things. Utility capacity, regulation and market conditions play a role too. Heatmap’s count also leaves out projects stalled by state-level pauses in Texas and New York.
What comes next for the data center backlash
The fight is moving up the political ladder. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul froze most new large-scale data center construction in July. In August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told regulators to pause pending approvals while they audit every project seeking a grid connection.
A bipartisan Senate permitting proposal would not touch the power of towns and counties to say no.
The stakes reach the Fed, too. Chair Warsh has called AI a shock, as we covered when he refused to say what he’ll do about rates.
Meanwhile, the next test of data center opposition is close to home. The Memphis City Council voted 7-5 to push its vote on a data center moratorium and new rules to Oct. 20.
So who gets to decide where the AI boom lives? Right now, town halls are doing most of the answering.
