Oregon backlash to data centers grows
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Data centers are increasingly becoming a stand-in for broader anger at an AI future many Americans don't want but fear they'll have to pay for.
Why it matters: Opposition to massive energy-hungry server farms is intensifying in Oregon and beyond, fueling city council clashes, protests and legal challenges.
The latest: A group of land-use advocates sued the city of Hillsboro and Washington County this week over concerns about tax incentives granted to data center companies, the Oregonian reported.
- Hillsboro is home to 21 data centers — either completed or under construction — spanning roughly 470 acres.
- The lawsuit alleges the city improperly gave tax breaks to companies who rushed to file applications before a moratorium on the incentives took effect at the beginning of June.
What they're saying: "Cash-rich data center developers have been reaping tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives every year," the plaintiffs wrote in their lawsuit. "This has left public education funding and local tax revenue flat or worse."
- The suit alleges the data center industry will receive $84 million in tax breaks in 2026 alone.
- The city and county did not respond to the Oregonian's requests for comment.
Context: The lawsuit comes after weeks of often contentious Hillsboro City Council meetings, where angry citizens raised concerns over tax breaks, energy use and environmental issues.
- Those concerns were echoed by Axios Portland readers who told us that water use and electricity demand gave them pause about using AI.
Zoom out: Overall, the American public is still divided on data centers, with direct opposition not yet a majority view, per national polling by Milltown Partners, a consulting firm that counsels leading AI labs and tech startups.
- The firm surveyed 6,872 registered voters in May and found nearly half of respondents support a temporary pause on new construction.
- The split suggests many voters aren't categorically anti-data center but are wary of the pace and terms of the buildout.
The bottom line: Opposition to data centers is increasingly becoming a proxy for broader public unease about AI's economic, environmental and social impacts.
- "This isn't happening in a vacuum," Milltown Partners researcher Tom Brookes told Axios. "The AI transformation is arriving at a time when Americans already feel angry, insecure and pessimistic."