Community opposition to data center development appears across three separate U.S. regions this weekend, with residents in Pennsylvania coal towns, Southeast Raleigh, and Western Massachusetts each pushing back against proposed projects through different means, including organized campaigns, public forums, and, in Raleigh's case, a withdrawn proposal. Power and grid concerns form a second thread: a SemiAnalysis report attributes $12 billion in ratepayer costs to a PJM modeling error, TVA rate policy raises questions about who bears data center power costs in Tennessee, and grid experts are calling on operators to better understand current transmission constraints. Sitting alongside those tensions, OpenAI is reported to be in talks to lease a 10GW Ohio facility from SB Energy, Texas has ordered audits of up to 300 projects mostly involving data centers, New South Wales is moving to impose planning controls on the sector, and the Financial Times flags rising carbon emissions as a consequence of Big Tech's buildout.
Stories covered this period:
- Pennsylvania Coal Towns Organize Against Incoming Data Center Developments
- Southeast Raleigh Data Center Proposal Withdrawn Following Community Pushback
- Michigan Data Center Investment Flows Tracked in New Weekly State Digest
- OpenAI in Talks to Lease Massive 10GW Ohio Data Center From SB Energy
- SemiAnalysis: PJM Modeling Error Cost US Ratepayers $12 Billion
- New South Wales Moves to Control Data Center Boom With Planning Rules
- Western Massachusetts Residents Demand Data Center Ban at Public Forum
- Singapore Liquid Cooling Market Forecast to Expand Significantly Through 2031
- Texas to Audit Up to 300 Projects, Mostly Data Centers, After Abbott Order
- Big Tech Data Center Boom Poised to Drive Up Carbon Emissions