U.S. data center cancellations quadruple

U.S. data center cancellations tied to local opposition jumped to 25 in 2025 from six in 2024, according to Heatmap Pro and Baird. (heatmap.news) (constructiondive.com) Heatmap said the canceled projects accounted for at least 4.7 gigawatts of electricity demand, and it identified at least 99 planned projects being contested nationwide. (heatmap.news) Developers and contractors say the pressure is no longer just neighborhood politics. Rob LoBuono of Gensler said public sentiment is now the market’s top concern, while Hut 8 executive Brennan Church said projects that look viable often fail on power, permitting or labor. (utilitydive.com) The fights are growing as the projects get much bigger. Green Street’s David Guarino said a 100-megawatt lease used to be considered massive, but projects above 1,000 megawatts are now setting the benchmark. (constructiondive.com) That scale matters because data centers are giant electricity users: S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research estimated U.S. utility demand from data centers will reach 82.3 gigawatts in 2026, up 28% from 2025. (spglobal.com) S&P Global said utility power supplied to hyperscale, leased and crypto-mining data centers could reach about 167 gigawatts by 2030, up from a December 2025 forecast. In Virginia alone, 451 Research estimated data centers will require 16.6 gigawatts in 2026. (spglobal.com) The backlash is now organized across much of the country. Baird said at least 188 local opposition groups operate in 40 states, and Data Center Watch said the largest clusters are in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic. (utilitydive.com) (spglobal.com) Some of the sharpest fights have turned into state policy. Maine lawmakers passed a bill this month to block new data centers larger than 20 megawatts until November 2027, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed it on April 24. (politico.com) (mainepublic.org) In Virginia, Prince William County officials this month dropped support for the Prince William Digital Gateway after a court halted the project near Manassas National Battlefield Park. The proposal would have allowed 37 data centers on 2,100 acres. (planetizen.com) (wvtf.org) Heatmap’s review found about 40% of data centers facing sustained local opposition are eventually canceled. For developers chasing the artificial intelligence buildout, that turns community approval and grid access into the same problem. (heatmap.news)