Power & Sites · United States

Early Community Engagement Becomes Critical as Data Center Opposition Grows

Credited to Data Center Post · datacenterpost.com · 2h ago

Photograph · Data Center Post

More than 1,500 new data centers are in various stages of development across the United States, but growing community opposition is changing how projects move forward. According to Inside Towers Intelligence’s 2026 Volume 3 Digital Infrastructure Industry: Market Analysis Report, concerns about electricity costs, energy and water use, environmental impacts, and artificial intelligence are driving greater public scrutiny of proposed developments.

Public resistance is widespread. A Gallup poll conducted in March 2026 found that seven in ten Americans opposed data center construction in their local communities including more than half who strongly opposed it. Environmental concerns are particularly significant with 55% of U.S. adults saying they worry a great deal about data centers’ environmental impact and another 23% expressing a fair amount of concern.

Government officials are responding with a growing patchwork of regulations, moratoriums, and bans. Several states have considered restrictions on new developments, while numerous municipalities have enacted or explored local pauses. These actions are already affecting project timelines and encouraging developers to reevaluate their site-selection and community-engagement strategies.

As opposition increases, early community outreach is becoming a prerequisite for development. Instead of securing land, power, fiber, and water before speaking with residents, developers are increasingly engaging local leaders and communities earlier in the planning process. These conversations allow companies to explain their projects, address local concerns, and identify benefits that can be delivered to the surrounding area.

Several developers are pairing transparency with tangible community investments. Examples highlighted in the report include support for schools, roads, workforce-development programs, and environmental initiatives. Duos Edge AI also hosts open houses and guided facility tours that allow residents, educators, officials, and businesses to see its modular edge data centers and ask questions directly about their size, cooling systems, and electricity requirements.

Clearer communication will remain central as the industry responds to concerns about power, water, jobs, and the environment. Ilissa Miller, CEO of iMiller Public Relations, recommends approaching community engagement more like an election campaign than a traditional project-marketing effort. She also advocates for engaging communities before filing conditional-use applications and providing clear information about what developers can offer at each stage of the process.

The report indicates that responsible development will increasingly depend on transparency, thoughtful planning, and measurable community value. Operators that engage early, correct misinformation, and work constructively with residents and local officials will be better positioned to move projects forward. Explore the Inside Towers Intelligence report for additional insights into the community and regulatory pressures shaping data center development.

Power & SitesUnited States

How Amazon Rewired Its Data Centers After Mississippi Power Warning

Credited to The Information$ · theinformation.com3h ago

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Earlier this year, officials at Mississippi electric utility Entergy had some worrisome news for Amazon: It was going to have to start kicking the company’s Mississippi-based data centers off the grid during peak times to ensure it could support other customers, according to two…

View the article · $The Information

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Power & Sites · United States

4-hour storage cheaper than gas peakers across global markets: WoodMac

Credited to Utility Dive · utilitydive.com · 3h ago

In North America, data centers are boosting the long-term investment case for energy storage and renewables as gas turbine backlogs and rising fuel volatility drive up peaking costs, a report says.

The levelized cost of electricity for four-hour battery storage is now cheaper than gas peakers in markets across the globe, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis published Thursday.

In North America, investment in gas generation capacity is entering “a supply deficit cycle through the late 2030s,” the firm said, “driven by data centre load growth, a dynamic that keeps thermal capital costs elevated and reinforces the long-term economic case for renewables and storage.”

Gas turbine prices are projected to rise to $600/kW by the end of 2027, a 195% increase since 2019, Wood Mackenzie said in April. The three major gas turbine manufacturers — GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi — each have backlogs ranging from 35 GW to 116 GW as they plan capacity expansions.

While Wood Mackenzie did not publish exact prices, a spokesperson told Utility Dive in an email that in the United States for a 2026 commercial operation date, 4-hour battery storage is 65% to 75% cheaper than new open-cycle gas turbine peakers, depending on whether state-level carbon pricing applies.

“This economic shift is decisive and widening,” Ahmed Jameel Abdullah, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in a statement. “Gas turbine shortages and rising fuel volatility are driving up peaking costs, while expanding battery manufacturing continues to push storage costs down.”

He added that a similar trend is reshaping baseload economics, too. “Single-axis tracker solar is now the lowest-cost new-build technology in 43 of 48 modeled markets, with onshore wind leading in five. In the most competitive markets, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, solar LCOE is on track to fall below US$20/MWh by 2033,” the report said.

In the Middle East and Africa, four-hour storage is forecast to fall 33% to $80/MWh by 2035, according to the report, “displacing gas peaking on cost across every gas market in the region.”

China remains the global storage cost benchmark at more than 55% below the rest of the Asia Pacific average, “illustrating how manufacturing scale is redrawing the global cost map,” the firm said.

In North America, the research firm noted near-term solar costs are being pressured by tariffs, anti-dumping and countervailing duty actions, and new import restrictions. Distributed solar is seeing the most significant price increases, while utility-scale solar is partially protected by 168 GW of safe-harbored capacity, “though module prices are still expected to rise around 5% annually through 2030.”

“Residential and commercial projects face a more constrained environment, with module prices forecast to increase 6% in 2027 and a further 14% in 2028,” WoodMac analysts said. “For onshore wind, continuous capex and opex improvements are expected to drive LCOE down 16% by 2060, despite near-term uncertainty from policy changes and potential Section 232 impacts on turbine pricing.”

For energy storage, tax credits “continue to provide a competitive advantage” by “partially counteracting the impact of foreign entity of concern restrictions and supply chain constraints,” the firm said. “A cost spike is anticipated following the phase-out of the investment tax credits from 2038, but over the long-term new battery chemistries, hardware commoditisation and domestic supply chain expansion are expected to drive storage LCOE down 10% by 2060.”