In Granbury, Texas, city council meetings begin with a prayer.

But at a session back in January, one local invoked the Almighty in a way that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago.

“I want to pray in Jesus’ name that the land annexed will not become a data center,”saidMatt Long, a member of the development commission in surrounding Hood County. Despite his plea, and a chorus of complaints from his neighbors, the council voted just four months later to rezone 2,100 acres of land for a potential data center known as Project Patriot.

The rebellion stands out in Texas, which has a longstanding pro-business reputation and a governor, Greg Abbott, who last year called his state the”epicenter of AI development.” Already, theStargate Projectin Abilene, Texas, a collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp., and Oracle Corp., is one of the most prominent buildouts underway in the US. Texas is forecast to overtake Virginia as the data center capital of the world by 2030, according to brokerage JLL.

What’s happening in Granbury, about 70 miles outside of Dallas, is just one example of a fight occurring across America, where everyday people are pushing back against data centers from Pennsylvania to Palm Beach County. In every locale, their complaints are similar: they worry about noise, air quality and how the power-hungry facilities could drive up the cost of their electricity bills. Given the amount of AI infrastructure being built in Texas, the state grid operator projects that power demand couldquadrupleby 2032.

Seven in 10 Americans are against the construction of an AI data center in their area, with 48% strongly opposed, according to a recent Galluppollbased on a survey done in March. While most proposals get approved, grassroots resistance has, at times, yielded results: last year, at least 48 projects valued at a combined $156 billion were blocked or stalled amid coordinated local opposition, according to a report from Data Center Watch, a research firm.

This year, Hood County residents have tried and failed (twice) to impose a moratorium on data center development, and locals have even taken legal action, including against Project Patriot. In nearby Hill County, lawmakers justapproveda one-year freeze on such projects.

“I’m glad they have commissioners willing to stand up and go out on a limb,” Long said in an interview, referring to Hill County’s moratorium. “For Hood County, I’m still optimistic — if we’re going to do something I think the time is now.”

Whether a temporary ban is even legal is up for debate. Locals have asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — the Trump-endorsed candidate in next week’s high-profileRepublican Senate primary— to weigh in.

Hood County Attorney Matthew Mills wrotea letterin February asking Paxton for clarity, but hasn’t heard back. Mills said he expects counties that attempt to impose moratoriums on projects to face legal challenges because Texas law gives local governments limited authority over development.

Source: Drudge Report