$130 Billion in AI Data Centers were Just Blocked. Where Does the AI Boom Go Now

In September, Google walked away from a $1 billion data center outside Indianapolis, pulling its Franklin Township proposal minutes before the city-county council was set to vote it down. It wasn’t an isolated incident.

Communities across the United States have now blocked or delayed more than $130 billion in AI data centers in the first three months of 2026, refusing projects the industry's biggest names assumed they could build anywhere.