The fight against AI data centers is just beginning

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the data center buildout, follow Emma Roth. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. The fight against AI data centers is just beginning Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. The fight against AI data centers is just beginning Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. How it started Years before the AI boom threatened local power grids, a small group of protesters set the stage for the battles cropping up across communities today. In 2015, Apple announced plans to build a roughly $1 billion data center in the sleepy town of Athenry, Ireland. The data center’s 500-acre site would power Apple’s services in Europe, including iTunes, iMessage, and Siri. At the time, Apple said the data center would offer outdoor education spaces, walking trails, and an initiative to replant native trees. It would also use 100 percent renewable energy. With the approval from the local government and plans to give back to the community, Apple likely didn’t anticipate the lengthy battle it was about to face. Apple’s building plans were quickly derailed after Irish residents lodged complaints to the country’s independent planning board about the expected noise, light pollution, flooding, traffic, and impact on local wildlife. While the board ultimately approved Apple’s facility in 2016, the fight didn’t end there, as residents applied for judicial review of the board’s decision in the Irish High Court. In 2017, the Irish High Court ruled in favor of Apple, but the pair of activists behind the appeal wanted to bring the decision before Ireland’s Supreme Court — and that was finally enough for Apple to call it quits. Even with the support of some of Athenry’s residents, Apple gave up just months later, in May 2018, after its building plans remained in limbo for years. Over the past decades, data centers for cloud storage and other non-AI-related purposes have become ubiquitous. But data centers are coming under increasing scrutiny in 2026, with sprawling AI data centers consuming as much energy as entire states and some as large as cities. How it’s going More people are recognizing the risks AI data centers pose to their communities as residents living near these facilities report rising energy costs, issues affecting local water quality, and noise and light pollution, along with concerns about greenhouse gas emissions. The US Energy Information Administration said commercial energy demand would surpass residential demand for the first time this year due to the AI data center buildout. That demand is expected to double by 2027. Now, many people are rushing to block the buildout of AI data centers in their communities, with residents flooding town halls…