Data Centers Face a Wave of Backlash: The Core of the Controversy Is Said to Be Power
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In the US, data center construction has sparked resistance in many areas. OpenAI's Chris Lehane once characterized the backlash as a "culture war" centered on affordability and corporate power. On November 10, 2026, after visiting Virginia's Data Center Alley during the US midterm elections, an MIT Technology Review reporter offered a different view: the core of the resistance to data centers lies more in their power consumption and local impacts than in the culture-war issues Lehane cited. The report shifts the debate over the data center backlash away from political and power narratives, back to the practical issues of electricity supply and local community impacts.
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- MIT Technology Review · AIThe backlash about data centers might really just be about electricity
After visiting Data Center Alley in Virginia during the US midterms, MIT Technology Review reporters argue that resistance to data centers stems more from electricity consumption and local impacts than from the culture war over affordability and corporate power described by OpenAI's Chris Lehane.
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