Data Center Watch: 45 US data center projects valued at $68B were blocked or delayed by local opposition from April to June, or 50%+ of large Q2 developments
Opposition to data centers continues to mount in the US. — That's according to research group Data Center Watch …
Context & Ripple Effects
The April-to-June tally extends an escalating record: Data Center Watch counted 17 blocked or delayed projects worth $98B in Q2 2025, while a June report put Q1 2026 disruptions at at least 75 projects worth roughly $130B.
The industry had already acknowledged the problem. Digital Realty, QTS and NTT Data warned in January that operators were not effectively addressing local opposition, making permitting and community acceptance an execution issue rather than a peripheral planning risk.
First-order effects
- Developers behind 45 large U.S. projects face delayed or blocked construction plans, with Data Center Watch finding that more than half of large developments measured in the quarter were affected.
- Data Center Watch's $68B tally makes local approval a binding constraint on a substantial share of planned data-center capacity.
Second-order effects
- Digital Realty, QTS and NTT Data face added pressure to improve local-engagement strategies, because opposition is repeatedly disrupting projects rather than appearing as isolated disputes.
- Developers and prospective capacity customers must treat project timelines as less dependable where community approval has not been secured.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern persists, the value of data-center development will shift further toward sites that combine physical readiness with durable local acceptance.
- The sector's expansion model will be shaped not only by capital and construction execution but by an AI-infrastructure social license that is negotiated market by market.
The trend: U.S. data-center expansion is increasingly constrained by local approval risk, elevating community acceptance into a core infrastructure-development variable.