The more Americans hear about datacenters, the less they like them

Pew finds growing concern over their effects on energy bills, the environment, and nearby communities

Americans are growing more and more wary of datacenters, with a Pew Research Center survey finding sharp rises since January in those who view the effect on the environment, energy bills, and nearby communities negatively.

Pew surveyed 10,548 US adults between July 20 and August 9. Fifty-four percent said datacenters were mostly bad for the environment, up from 39 percent in January. Half said they were mostly bad for household energy costs, up from 38 percent, while 49 percent viewed them negatively for the quality of life of nearby residents, up from 30 percent.

In each category, only 4 percent described their impact as mostly good. Views were more evenly divided on local employment and tax revenue, while 12 percent of respondents said they had not heard of datacenters.

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The shift spans demographic groups: men and women, adults of every age and education level, and urban, suburban, and rural residents have all grown more negative since the start of the year.

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The movement also crosses party lines. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remain more negative than Republicans and Republican leaners, but among the latter group, 42 percent now say datacenters are mostly bad for nearby residents' quality of life, up from 24 percent in January.

The research comes amid growing scrutiny of datacenters' electricity and water consumption and their effects on household utility bills.

The Register has reported on US senators investigating rising energy bills, gaps in operators' disclosure of emissions, and allegations that compute sheds consume more water than their owners acknowledge.

Amazon's chief sustainability officer this week said communities should hold the company accountable over datacenters and called for greater transparency about their effects.

The industry has long recognized its image problem. At last year's Datacloud Global Congress, executives discussed ways to win over communities increasingly wary of new facilities.

Republican officials have taken differing positions. Trump has consistently supported datacenter construction, arguing that it is needed to help the US compete with China, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott imposed a statewide moratorium in August after previously backing expansion. Trump has also blamed opposition to datacenters on Chinese propaganda.

Whatever the cause, 60 percent of respondents said they would be not too or not at all comfortable with a new datacenter operating nearby. Majorities of urban, suburban, and rural Americans agreed. ®