The fight against AI data centers is just beginning
The fight against AI data centers is just beginning
反对人工智能数据中心的斗争才刚刚开始
Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. 来自美国及其他地区的社区抵制行动，正促使一些公司重新考虑其数据中心的建设规划。
How it started
故事的开端
Years before the AI boom threatened local power grids, a small group of protesters set the stage for the battles cropping up across communities today. In 2015, Apple announced plans to build a roughly $1 billion data center in the sleepy town of Athenry, Ireland. The data center’s 500-acre site would power Apple’s services in Europe, including iTunes, iMessage, and Siri. At the time, Apple said the data center would offer outdoor education spaces, walking trails, and an initiative to replant native trees. It would also use 100 percent renewable energy. With the approval from the local government and plans to give back to the community, Apple likely didn’t anticipate the lengthy battle it was about to face. 在人工智能热潮威胁到当地电网的几年前，一小群抗议者就为今天在各地社区上演的斗争奠定了基础。2015年，苹果公司宣布计划在爱尔兰宁静的阿森里（Athenry）镇建造一个价值约10亿美元的数据中心。该数据中心占地500英亩，旨在为苹果在欧洲的服务（包括iTunes、iMessage和Siri）提供支持。当时，苹果表示该数据中心将提供户外教育空间、步行道，并启动一项重新种植本土树木的计划。它还将使用100%的可再生能源。在获得当地政府批准并计划回馈社区的情况下，苹果可能并未预料到即将面临的漫长斗争。
Apple’s building plans were quickly derailed after Irish residents lodged complaints to the country’s independent planning board about the expected noise, light pollution, flooding, traffic, and impact on local wildlife. While the board ultimately approved Apple’s facility in 2016, the fight didn’t end there, as residents applied for judicial review of the board’s decision in the Irish High Court. In 2017, the Irish High Court ruled in favor of Apple, but the pair of activists behind the appeal wanted to bring the decision before Ireland’s Supreme Court — and that was finally enough for Apple to call it quits. Even with the support of some of Athenry’s residents, Apple gave up just months later, in May 2018, after its building plans remained in limbo for years. 在爱尔兰居民向该国独立规划委员会投诉，表达对预期噪音、光污染、洪水、交通以及对当地野生动物影响的担忧后，苹果的建设计划很快受阻。尽管委员会最终在2016年批准了苹果的设施，但斗争并未就此结束，居民们向爱尔兰高等法院申请对委员会的决定进行司法审查。2017年，爱尔兰高等法院裁定苹果胜诉，但上诉背后的两位活动人士希望将此案提交至爱尔兰最高法院——这最终让苹果决定放弃。尽管得到了阿森里部分居民的支持，但在建设计划陷入多年僵局后，苹果仅在几个月后的2018年5月就选择了放弃。
Over the past decades, data centers for cloud storage and other non-AI-related purposes have become ubiquitous. But data centers are coming under increasing scrutiny in 2026, with sprawling AI data centers consuming as much energy as entire states and some as large as cities. 在过去的几十年里，用于云存储和其他非人工智能用途的数据中心已变得随处可见。但到了2026年，数据中心正受到越来越多的审视，因为庞大的人工智能数据中心所消耗的能源相当于整个州，有些甚至规模堪比城市。
How it’s going
现状如何
More people are recognizing the risks AI data centers pose to their communities as residents living near these facilities report rising energy costs, issues affecting local water quality, and noise and light pollution, along with concerns about greenhouse gas emissions. The US Energy Information Administration said commercial energy demand would surpass residential demand for the first time this year due to the AI data center buildout. That demand is expected to double by 2027. 随着居住在这些设施附近的居民报告能源成本上升、当地水质受影响、噪音和光污染问题，以及对温室气体排放的担忧，越来越多的人开始意识到人工智能数据中心对其社区构成的风险。美国能源信息署表示，由于人工智能数据中心的建设，今年商业能源需求将首次超过住宅需求。预计到2027年，这一需求将翻一番。
Now, many people are rushing to block the buildout of AI data centers in their communities, with residents flooding town halls across the nation to voice their concerns about the buildout. From January to March alone, protesters have blocked or delayed at least 75 projects in the US valued at $130 billion, according to a study from Data Center Watch, a research project backed by the AI security company 10a Labs. “The number of active opposition groups more than doubled from 396 at the end of 2025 to 833 by the end of Q1 2026, now spanning 49 states,” the study says. “Over 235,000 petition signatures were collected in this quarter alone.” 现在，许多人正竞相阻止在其社区建设人工智能数据中心，居民们涌向全国各地的市政厅，表达对建设项目的担忧。根据由人工智能安全公司10a Labs支持的研究项目“数据中心观察”（Data Center Watch）的一项研究，仅在1月至3月期间，抗议者就阻止或推迟了美国至少75个项目，总价值达1300亿美元。研究称：“活跃的反对团体数量从2025年底的396个增加到2026年第一季度末的833个，翻了一番多，目前遍布49个州。仅在这一季度就收集了超过23.5万个请愿签名。”
In January, the Blackstone-owned data center company QTS dropped plans to build a $12 billion campus in DeForest, Wisconsin, following protests from community members. Meanwhile, a planned data center on a 580-acre campus in Delaware City is facing roadblocks, as local regulators determined in March that the planned facility is prohibited under the state’s Coastal Zone Act, which blocks heavy industry on its shorelines. And so far in July, opponents successfully blocked a QTS data center in Prince William County, Virginia. The “Digital Gateway” would’ve spanned 2,000 acres in a state that’s already dealing with rising energy costs from data center buildout. Residents also pressured Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary to downsize his proposed 40,000-acre Project Stratos campus in Box Elder County, Utah. 今年1月，在社区成员的抗议下，黑石集团旗下的数据中心公司QTS放弃了在威斯康星州迪福雷斯特（DeForest）建造一个价值120亿美元园区的计划。与此同时，特拉华市一个占地580英亩的拟建数据中心也面临阻碍，当地监管机构在3月份认定，该拟建设施违反了该州的《海岸带法案》（Coastal Zone Act），该法案禁止在海岸线进行重工业开发。截至7月，反对者已成功阻止了弗吉尼亚州威廉王子县的一个QTS数据中心项目。这个名为“数字门户”（Digital Gateway）的项目原计划占地2000英亩，而该州目前正因数据中心建设而面临能源成本上升的问题。居民们还向《创智赢家》（Shark Tank）明星凯文·奥利里（Kevin O’Leary）施压，要求他缩减其在犹他州博克斯埃尔德县（Box Elder County）提议的4万英亩“平流层项目”（Project Stratos）园区规模。
With new data center proposals emerging what seems like each week, the fight is far from over. 随着似乎每周都有新的数据中心提案出现，这场斗争远未结束。
What happens next
未来走向
As protests in communities across the US and beyond play out, a political battle is breaking out in Congress. Data centers are a key part of President Donald Trump’s plan to win the AI race against China, which is why he signed an executive order last year to fast-track the construction of the sprawling facilities. But not everyone on Capitol Hill is on board with Trump’s stance on AI data centers. 随着美国及其他地区社区的抗议活动持续进行，国会内部也爆发了一场政治斗争。数据中心是唐纳德·特朗普总统在人工智能竞赛中战胜中国的计划的关键部分，这也是他去年签署行政命令以加快这些庞大设施建设的原因。但国会山并非所有人都认同特朗普在人工智能数据中心问题上的立场。
With midterm elections around the corner, some Republican candidates are distancing themselves from Trump’s data center-friendly views to curry favor with residents. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill that would pause the construction of new AI data centers until Congress passes laws that would prevent the facilities from raising utility prices or harming the environment. At the same time, lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle are backing the Ratepayer Protection Act, a set of laws that codifies an agreement signed by Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other tech giants to pay for their own data center energy costs. Other lawmakers stand behind the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers (GRID) Act. 随着中期选举临近，一些共和党候选人正与特朗普对数据中心友好的观点保持距离，以博取居民的好感。参议员伯尼·桑德斯（民主党，佛蒙特州）和众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯（民主党，纽约州）提出了一项法案，要求暂停新建人工智能数据中心，直到国会通过相关法律，防止这些设施推高公用事业价格或破坏环境。与此同时，两党议员都在支持《纳税人保护法案》（Ratepayer Protection Act），这是一套将谷歌、Meta、微软和其他科技巨头签署的协议法律化的法案，要求这些公司自行承担其数据中心的能源成本。其他议员则支持《保障数据中心费率隔离法案》（GRID Act）。