How Global Opposition to Data Centers Could Guide US Activists

WHO:

CNN - Western Downs Mayor Andrew Smith said, “Our role is to look ahead,” and argued the region must be “progressive” and “brave” to sustain its communities over the next 20 or 30 years.

CNN - Darling Downs Environment Council representative Ahri Tallon called for a moratorium on AI and data centers and said communities need time for “deep ethical conversations” about the technology.

NPR - Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke said residents’ lack of understanding about data centers is “a huge problem,” because operators have not had to explain what they do.

CNN - West Virginia Army veteran and former engineer Cat Kemmerling said Valley Link’s proposed transmission line revived her PTSD-related nightmares.

CNN - Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has resisted calls for a statewide data center moratorium; Loudoun County is considering revoking some grandfathered approvals, while some county leaders want authority to reject projects exceeding available power capacity.

Yahoo Finance - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has shifted from supporting data centers to expressing skepticism as he faces a reelection challenge from Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

CNN - Dalby residents Corey Cora, a retail worker, and Joel Holtham, a telecoms worker, said many community members may not learn about the proposed data center until it is too late.

CNN - Retiree Beris Furner said conversations with Zerra DC staff changed his view: he now believes the council is advancing a speculative proposal without enough community support.

CNN - Shay Dougall, a University of Sydney postdoctoral research associate, said rural residents face a “double whammy” from industrialization and climate impacts.

NPR - Port Washington resident Amanda Mueller said she is pushing for litigation, moratoriums, environmental reviews, and more voter input; she argued residents should not live within a mile of a data center.

NPR - Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke said the project gives him “pride and angst,” and acknowledged that residents’ lack of knowledge about what data centers do is “a huge problem.”

CNN - Democratic Virginia Sen. Russet Perry said eminent domain is being exercised for private industry, which she said is historically unusual.

CNN - West Virginia delegate candidate Jenny Thacker is campaigning to change the state regulatory board’s structure to make it more responsive to voters.

CNN - Queensland Mayor Andrew Smith said he has “almost daily” conversations with other data center developers about moving to the region.

CNN - Anthropic’s David Masters said the company plans virtual power purchase agreements, preferring renewable energy and new-build generation projects, though specific projects remain under discussion.

CNN - Anthropic’s international special envoy Jeff Bleich urged Australian leaders to “step up to” the choice of AI at a parliamentary committee hearing.

CNN - OpenAI agent accessed Australian healthcare statistics but not personal information; Sam Altman apologized to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and vowed to regain Australians’ trust.

CNN - Grain farmer Bev Newton said gas industry activity had left some wells dry and called the water being offered to data center developers “stolen water.”

CNN - Zerra DC is proposing the Western Downs Digital Park in Queensland, with Anthropic as its first major tenant; Anthropic says the facility would answer questions using Claude but would not train large language models.

NPR - Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke supported a $15 billion data center project, saying it could secure local jobs for “the next 50 to 75 years” and strengthen city finances.

Wired - Paris Marx is the author of *Hyperscale* and has tracked global data center development for years.

Wired - The article says the US movement against data centers can learn from developments abroad.

WHAT:

CNN - Anthropic told CNN its goal is to host “significant capacity” in Australia.

CNN - Anthropic’s international special envoy Jeff Bleich said, “If Australia takes this opportunity and gets the balance right, it will not simply participate in the AI era; it will shape it.”

CNN - Anthropic’s Claude advised that the project should not be decided before public notification and independent assessments of water, power, noise, and workforce impacts, and recommended holding a public meeting.

NPR - Mayor Neitzke said the Port Washington data center project could bring thousands of local jobs, beautification and infrastructure projects, and new tax revenue.

Fast Company - Two proposals for California’s Puente Hills Mall would include a bus transit station and surface parking; one allows a warehouse to be converted into a 10-megawatt data center.

Fast Company - Puente Hills Mall still has 1.1 to 1.2 million square feet of leasable space; its remaining businesses include an AMC movie theater and Round1.

CNN - Valley Link’s 765-kilovolt route would use a right-of-way as wide as a 16-lane highway and 160-foot towers; the two proposed lines could affect dozens of counties with more than 1.5 million residents.

CNN - Clarke County hired former Virginia attorney general Richard Cullen and secured revised Valley Link maps that touch only a small tip of the county.

CNN - Ohio has accepted a proposal for four new 765-kilovolt transmission lines to meet power demand.

Yahoo Finance - Amazon canceled its planned Loudoun County data center project after reaching an agreement with local officials. AWS had bought the property for $427 million; Amazon said it would repurpose most of the land for mixed-use and residential development, donate 25 acres for a community arts and recreation facility, and contribute $5 million to a housing fund.

Truthout - The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council voted to ban data centers; the Apsáalooke have not taken a position.

CNN - Zerra DC held pop-up information sessions in Dalby, whose population is 12,000.

CNN - Anthropic said it is preparing for an IPO that could potentially value the company at $1.5 trillion.

CNN - More than 8 in 10 Americans expressed greater concern than excitement about rapid AI development in CNN polling.

CNN - Federal regulators ordered national reliability officials to develop criteria for connecting large computational loads to the bulk power system by the end of 2026.

CNN - A West Virginia government engineer recommended denying the MARL transmission-line application, saying it provided “no” benefits to West Virginians.

CNN - Valley Link said it had reviewed routes “parcel by parcel” and talked with thousands of residents; it also said lines of this size inevitably affect people and communities.

CNN - Queensland’s exemption from Australia’s renewable-energy requirement would allow the proposed Western Downs facility, if approved, to connect directly to the grid and use a mix including coal and natural gas.

CNN - Zerra DC says it plans air cooling, which uses less water than evaporative cooling but more energy; it also says battery conditioning would buffer grid load spikes.

CNN - Anthropic said the facility would answer questions using Claude but not train large language models, citing Australia’s copyright laws.

CNN - The Western Downs project’s peak capacity is 2.16 gigawatts, according to the area’s federal MP, who said it exceeds a quarter of Queensland’s daily electricity consumption.

CNN - Anthropic is hiring an Australian community engagement manager and has promised tens of millions of dollars in spending where it operates.

NPR - Port Washington’s complex is part of President Trump’s Stargate program, a proposed nationwide network of advanced AI data centers, and involves Oracle, OpenAI, and Vantage Data Centers.

NPR - Mayor Ted Neitzke said data centers could secure local jobs for “the next 50 to 75 years”; the mayor’s annual stipend is $7,500.

CNN - A Brookings study estimated data center development could double US residential-sector electricity consumption by 2032.

CNN - A July equipment failure on a line serving Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley led facilities to disconnect 3,000 megawatts from the grid, causing electricity to flicker from Chicago to Miami.

CNN - Loudoun County data centers provide almost 40% of county tax revenue; some approved facilities face grid-connection waits of a year or more.

CNN - Zerra DC’s proposed Australian data center would cost $22 billion, comprise four buildings each the size of five football fields, and accommodate 1,500 temporary construction workers; it has not been formally approved.

CNN - A Queensland parliamentary petition opposing the Western Downs project had more than 23,000 signatures. Mayor Andrew Smith said the council would not hold public meetings about it.

NPR - Port Washington’s under-construction complex covers 2.5 million square feet of former farmland and stretches along two miles of highway; residents have protested, filed multiple lawsuits, and some opponents have been arrested for civil disobedience.

CNN - Proposed Valley Link transmission lines include a 260-mile, 765-kilovolt route across West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, plus a separate 116-mile route into Northern Virginia. Both require state approval.

CNN - Loudoun County’s energy use rose 233% from 2021 to 2025, exceeding 5 gigawatts; a county study said AI demand could raise its need to 20–30 gigawatts by 2030.

CT Mirror - Efforts to enact moratoriums and complete bans on data center development in Connecticut have outpaced actual proposals for new facilities.

BBC - Some predict that increased AI processing could eventually be done by hardware already inside computers and smartphones, potentially reducing the need for large data centers.

Wired - The article examines what the US movement against data centers can learn from other countries.

WHERE:

Fast Company - Puente Hills Mall, used for exterior shots of the fictional Twin Pines Mall in *Back to the Future*, is in Industry, California.

CNN - Queensland’s proposed Western Downs data center would use a grid mix that includes coal and natural gas from a gas basin beneath the site.

NPR - Building 12 at the Port Washington complex is 540,000 square feet; Building 11 is 725,000 square feet.

CNN - The proposed Western Downs Digital Park is near Dalby in rural Queensland, 260 kilometers west of Brisbane.

NPR - The data center complex is being built in Port Washington, Wisconsin, about half a mile from resident Amanda Mueller’s home.

CNN - Valley Link’s proposed routes would cross communities in three states and carry power primarily to Loudoun County, Virginia.

CT Mirror - Connecticut is experiencing anxiety and backlash over data center development.

Wired - The article identifies Ireland and New Zealand as examples of places with data center development.

WHY:

Fast Company - Opponents of the Puente Hills Mall proposals say a data center could worsen air quality, increase noise pollution, raise utility bills, and displace a community gathering place.

NPR - Vantage Data Centers representative Victoria Tyson-Bloyd said the Port Washington complex’s infrastructure supports cooling, heating, electricity, and fiber-optic communications; project representatives would not disclose the lease term.

CNN - Queensland has not ruled out approving new coal-fired power stations to support AI expansion if technology companies pay for them.

NPR - Vantage Data Centers representative Victoria Tyson-Bloyd said the complex’s infrastructure supports cooling, heating, electricity, and fiber-optic communications.

CNN - Loudoun County energy demand surged after remote digital services remained popular following the pandemic, the dominant utility underestimated demand, and ChatGPT launched, according to county board vice chairman Mike Turner.

CNN - Residents in the Western Downs oppose the project partly over water scarcity, fears of higher electricity prices and grid strain, and concerns that increased gas extraction could worsen groundwater depletion and subsidence.

CNN - Anthropic said the proposed facility would not train large language models because Australia’s copyright laws currently prohibit it.

BBC - Processing AI on computers and smartphones could reduce the need for vast data centers.

HOW:

CNN - Virginia lawmakers could direct regulators to consider alternative transmission routes or underground lines, an option residents have advocated for that Valley Link says is infeasible.

CNN - Western Downs Mayor Andrew Smith said he is seeking billions of dollars in investment from governments and developers for new regional water infrastructure.

CNN - The proposed Australian facility would harvest and recycle rainwater for workers during operations, according to Zerra DC.

CNN - Anthropic said its virtual power purchase agreements would procure additional electricity for the grid, with a preference for renewables and new-build projects.

BBC - The proposed alternative is to carry out more AI processing on hardware already inside computers and smartphones.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 23:58 UTC)

Anthropic is backing a proposed 2.16-gigawatt data center in Queensland, Australia, as communities and officials debate the benefits and costs of rapidly expanding AI infrastructure. The project could use electricity from coal and natural gas, while residents have raised concerns about water, power, environmental impacts and whether they will have a say before decisions are made. Supporters point to jobs and tax revenue, but opposition is also growing, from calls for moratoriums to a tribal ban on data centers and Amazon’s cancellation of a separate project in Virginia.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 23:08 UTC)

A proposed $22 billion data center in Queensland, Australia, could use 2.16 gigawatts of power—more than a quarter of the state’s daily electricity consumption—and has drawn a petition with over 23,000 signatures, while residents say they have not had enough say. Across the United States, communities are challenging data centers and the power infrastructure they require: Amazon canceled a planned Loudoun County project after reaching an agreement with local officials, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council voted to ban data centers. Supporters point to jobs and tax revenue, but residents and officials have raised concerns about electricity, water, environmental impacts and public input, as federal regulators work on criteria for connecting large computing loads to the grid.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 16:08 UTC)

A proposed $22 billion data center near Dalby, Queensland, could draw up to 2.16 gigawatts of power, including electricity from coal and natural gas, and has not been formally approved; more than 23,000 people have signed a petition opposing it. Residents worry they are being left out of decisions and say data centers could strain local resources, while Anthropic says the facility would run its Claude assistant but not train large language models. In Port Washington, Wisconsin, residents are protesting and suing over a major data center project, as communities elsewhere also challenge the power lines and infrastructure needed to support the rapid expansion of AI computing.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 15:31 UTC)

A proposed $22 billion AI data center near Dalby, Queensland, could draw up to 2.16 gigawatts of power—more than a quarter of the state’s daily electricity use—and may run partly on coal and gas, prompting a petition with more than 23,000 signatures. In Port Washington, Wisconsin, residents are protesting and suing over a vast data center complex backed by Oracle, OpenAI and Vantage, while Mayor Ted Neitzke says it could bring long-term jobs and strengthen city finances. Across the United States and Australia, disputes over data centers are intensifying as communities raise concerns about electricity, water, environmental impacts and public oversight, even as developers pursue new projects and federal regulators work on rules for connecting major computing loads to the power grid.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 12:46 UTC)

A proposed $22 billion AI data center near Dalby in rural Queensland could draw up to 2.16 gigawatts of power, and residents are objecting over water scarcity, electricity costs and strain on the grid. Anthropic, the planned first major tenant, says the facility would use Claude to answer questions rather than train large language models, while developer Zerra DC proposes air cooling, rainwater recycling and battery systems; the project has not been formally approved. Resistance is also growing around major data center developments in the United States, where supporters point to jobs and tax revenue as opponents raise concerns about land use and power demand.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 07:27 UTC)

A proposed $22 billion data center near Dalby, Queensland, is facing opposition, with a parliamentary petition drawing more than 23,000 signatures. Zerra DC says the four-building project would host Anthropic, whose Claude service would answer questions there, but would not train large language models; the facility still lacks formal approval. In Wisconsin, a 2.5-million-square-foot data center complex is rising on former farmland in Port Washington, where residents have protested and filed lawsuits. Mayor Ted Neitzke says the $15 billion project could support jobs and city finances for decades. Meanwhile, proposed Valley Link power lines across three states would serve Northern Virginia, where electricity use has surged and could rise further with AI demand. Connecticut is also seeing backlash, though proposed restrictions have outpaced plans for new centers. Some experts point to processing AI on computers and phones as a way to reduce reliance on giant facilities.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 05:11 UTC)

Connecticut’s push to restrict data centers is moving faster than proposals to build new facilities, as anxiety and backlash grow across the state. Efforts to impose moratoriums or complete bans have outpaced actual applications for development. In the United States, opponents of data centers may be able to learn from developments abroad, according to Paris Marx, author of *Hyperscale*, who has tracked the industry for years. Ireland and New Zealand offer examples of places where data center development has become a focus. At the same time, some experts predict that more artificial intelligence processing could eventually happen on hardware already inside computers and smartphones. That approach could reduce reliance on vast, dedicated data centers. It remains a proposed alternative, but it could change how much large-scale infrastructure is needed as AI use grows.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 04:11 UTC)

As opposition to data centers grows in the United States, lessons from abroad may help shape the movement. Paris Marx, author of *Hyperscale*, has tracked data center development around the world for years, and his analysis looks at what US opponents can learn from other countries. Ireland and New Zealand are among the places where data center development offers examples to consider. At the same time, there may be a technological alternative to building ever-larger facilities. Some predict that more artificial intelligence processing could eventually happen on hardware already inside computers and smartphones. If that shift takes hold, it could reduce the need for vast data centers. The idea is to handle more AI tasks directly on devices, rather than sending them to large, centralized facilities. For communities concerned about data center expansion, developments abroad and changes in computing could both inform the debate.