Data centers are changing America's landscape, report says

The corporate technology giants building data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom are changing America's natural landscape.

Although data centers long predate generative AI, hundreds of massive, or "hyperscale," facilities are now sprouting up around the country. Many of these data centers are going up in areas that were once farmland or desert, according to satellite imagery published by the Washington Post. 

More than 1,300 data centers operate in the U.S. today, according to Cleanview, a market intelligence firm. An additional 2,231 data center projects are planned or in development, according to the group. About 100 facilities already in operation are classified as hyperscale centers that consume at least 100 megawatts of power at peak capacity, according to Cleanview.

"Roughly 40 percent of today's hyperscale data centers were built on previously developed land. The rest took over farmland, shrubland and forest," the Washington Post reported.

The data centers that power AI have a voracious appetite for electricity. Some companies erecting the facilities are building their own power grids to sidestep criticism that they strain the electric grid and drive up utility costs for residents. 

"The way that a lot of companies who build data centers are handling this, is they just need so much electricity, and the grid cannot give it. It would take many years to build up that capacity," Washington Post senior graphics reporter Kevin Schaul told CBS News. "And so what they're doing is going off-grid and building their own power plants. They're using repurposed jet engines, whatever they can find to build enough power."

The surge in data center construction has sparked significant public backlash, with communities citing concerns about their impact on local water and power supplies, among other issues. 

Grassroots efforts to block data center development have thwarted some planned projects. In the second quarter of 2026, advocacy groups disrupted at least 45 developments across 27 states, valued at $68 billion, according to a report shared with CBS News by Data Center Watch, which tracks public opposition to the facilities.

"Organized opposition became more geographically widespread and visible online, with petition activity expanding significantly and campaigns increasingly addressing statewide policy, utility regulation, and infrastructure," the group said in its report. 

Thirty states have introduced or adopted legislation or taken other actions to address some of these concerns, including the impact of data centers on utility costs, according to Data Center Watch. Some communities also imposed preemptive moratoriums on data center development, even before builders expressed interest or filed applications, the report notes. 

Developers have tried to sway local public opinion by offering communities incentives, even promising direct cash payments to residents to facilitate approvals, according to the report.