Hi Reader,

Tech companies want us to believe that massive data center build out is inevitable. That there’s nothing any of us can do to stop it, so we might as well learn to live with it.

Well, some of us (a majority, actually, according to this Gallup poll) don’t want to live it. We don’t want to live with the noise, air, and water pollution or the health impacts that it has on our families and neighbors. Or the rate hikes, back room deals, and unfilled promises.

Because many of us have been through this before. Whether it’s pipelines, petrochemical plants, mountaintop removal, fracking, or data centers, the playbook is the same. And it’s always the local communities who are left to bear the burden.

But this week we have some good news to amplify: Across the country, local residents are blocking and delaying polluting and extractive projects in spite so much tech investment. Beyond state lines, geography, and political party, people are working together to demand accountability.

And it’s working.

According to an article from Ars Technica, around $130 billion in projects have been blocked or delayed in just the first quarter of 2026.

So what’s driving this moment, and what should we be watching next? Read on for updates, new resources, and ways to plug into the movement to stop bad data centers.

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This bi-weekly newsletter is a new project from Halt the Harm Network. For more regular updates and meetups on data center organizing, request access to the Stop Bad Data Centers group inside the HHN community space.

What We're Following

Trump’s EPA is trying to speed data center buildout

The big picture: federal agencies are signaling they won’t set strong nationwide standards for data centers, while using “energy emergency” and “AI dominance” framing to fast-track fossil-powered infrastructure. Here’s a rundown from this week:

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA won’t set nationwide environmental requirements or recommendations for data centers. This comes amid broader rollbacks tied to the AI boom.
  ​Read more in POLITICO.​
• Public Citizen warns Trump is poised to use emergency powers to support AI data center buildout fueled by coal and gas, and flags an upcoming FERC proceeding that could shape how (or whether) household ratepayers are protected from cost shifts.
  ​Get the details here.​
• Tech Policy Press argues the administration’s AI Action Plan is “deregulation framed as innovation,” including shortcuts around environmental review and efforts to weaken state-level regulation — while fast-tracking data center infrastructure, often tied to fossil generation.
  ​TechPolicy.Press​

Water: Why the hidden costs are hard to measure

Wisconsin researchers summarize why water numbers are still so hard to find. The authors cite fragmented permitting, confidential system designs, and indirect water use for power generation as the biggest question marks. They also propose a policy “menu” focused on transparency, ratepayer protection, and efficiency prerequisites.

​Read more here.​

Behind the meter production won’t solve rate hike issues

An Energy Innovation analysis argues that data centers increasingly building on-site “behind the meter” gas plants (instead of connecting to the grid) can still drive up gas prices. Rate changes are tied to the price of natural gas, and increases in demand from data centers naturally put upwards pressure on prices, regardless of whether they are tied to the grid or behind the meter.

​Read more here.​

Air pollution: diesel backup generators can rival power plants

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers mapped air pollution from the diesel backup generators at 138 Northern Virginia data centers. They found steep increases in generator emissions between 2015–2023, comparable to those of a traditional power plant. The researchers also flag that low-income communities bear the greatest risk of health impacts from emissions exposure.

​Read more here.​

U.S. Data Centers Tracker Weekly Snapshot

FracTracker has been sharing weekly updates as part of an ongoing effort to document the rapid buildout of U.S. data center infrastructure.

This week’s snapshot captures a lot of movement nationwide. Even though only one newly documented facility was added to the tracker, several projects shifted status.

​Get the details here.​

​Or submit a new data center, share community pushback, or dig deeper here​

Upcoming Events

Understanding & Preventing Data Center Noise Pollution

As data centers rapidly expand across both rural and urban communities, one impact keeps surfacing again and again: noise. Les Blomberg, Founder & Executive Director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, will lead a two-part webinar series that equips communities with both the scientific grounding and practical tools to prevent and address harmful impacts.

Part 1: The Science of Noise will cover the fundamentals organizers need to make a strong case, including how sound travels, how it’s measured, what common readings miss, and the health impacts of chronic exposure.

​Register for Part 1 here.​

Part 2: Policy, Prevention, & Community Protection will focus on practical community protections, including ordinance language, monitoring and enforcement considerations, and the challenges of regulating industrial noise from data centers.

​Register for Part 2 here.​

Gateway 5: Data Center Financial Structuring & Credit Approvals

How do massive data center projects actually get financed, and where are the pressure points that communities can use to slow, reshape, or stop harmful buildout?

In Gateway 5, we’ll will walk through the basics of how data center deals are structured, who provides the money, and what “credit approvals” and financing milestones mean in practice. Together, we’ll map the key decision-makers (utilities, banks, private equity, bond markets, local/state entities), the documents and processes that signal a project is moving forward, and the common red flags that can reveal who’s carrying the risk—often communities and ratepayers.

​RSVP here.​

Event Recap

All event replays can be found in the Recordings Space in the HHN Network.​

Gateway 4: Tax Incentives

Tax incentive packages often trade guaranteed public revenue (property/sales taxes, permit fees, infrastructure costs) for company promises that may be harder to enforce, like funding equipment, supporting public services, or creating local jobs.

Intervening at this stage can look like:

• Showing up to economic development board meetings
• Asking questions about cost-benefit analyses
• Getting media involved to shed light on deals
• Including clawback mechanisms in the package to keep data centers accountable

Special thanks to Kasia Tarczynska from Good Jobs First for joining us and sharing her experiences with us.

​Read the full recap here.​

And check out the Good Jobs First resources on data center subsidies here.​

Closing Comment

It’s easy to feel like the data center boom is inevitable, especially when federal agencies signal they won’t regulate, and companies frame buildout as a national race we can’t question.

But the wins piling up right now tell a different story: when communities get organized early, demand transparency, and show up together, they can have an impact at every step in a project.

If you’re in the midst of a local fight, keep going. Every moratorium, delayed permit, or hard question at a planning meeting makes it easier for the next community to win too. We are in this together.

More soon,

Elissa

Elissa Yoder ​Organizing Fellow, Halt the Harm Network ​View Profile​

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