"A similar contrast is repeating in communities across the US. Data centers are meeting unprecedented public resistance, with environmental costs a leading concern. More of them have been needed to power a growing appetite for AI, and they've become obvious flash points for communities worried about what automation could mean for them. However, many of the factories getting built to supply servers, electrical gear, and other parts to data centers are facing virtually no opposition."
"Factories tend to create more jobs and drain fewer natural resources than data centers do, so with the exception of a few controversial chipmaking fabs in several states, they have been sailing through local hearings to get permits and tax breaks. But experts who follow supply chains say the minimal scrutiny on manufacturing projects highlights a potential new strategy for activists fighting data centers and a source of risk for communities who may be investing in a short-lived boom."
Residents objected strongly to a proposed data center while remaining silent about a tech factory, illustrating a wider pattern. Data centers face unprecedented local resistance driven largely by environmental concerns as they're built to meet growing AI demand. By contrast, factories that supply servers, electrical equipment, and other components encounter little opposition and often sail through permitting and tax-break processes. Manufacturing projects typically create more jobs and consume fewer natural resources than data centers, though some chip fabs have provoked controversy. Minimal scrutiny of supply-chain facilities could create a tactical target to slow data center growth while posing economic risks from a possibly short-lived boom.
Read at WIRED
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