Data center pushback in nine U.S. markets

• 31 of 109 tracked projects (28.4%) were stalled, denied or withdrawn. On a strict count that leaves out a 2023 cancellation and a site with no application, it is 29 of 107 (27.1%).
• Water was the stated deciding reason in 2 of 31 blocked projects. Zoning fit or procedure came up in 11, and water in 7 when residents' concerns are counted.
• 7 blocked projects have no stated reason on the record.
• Councils and county boards denied 10. Developers withdrew 8, usually right after a denial recommendation or a packed hearing. Moratoriums paused 5 and courts stopped or froze 4.
• Chicago's suburbs had the most cancellations of the nine markets: 5 in 2026, in Naperville, Barrington Hills, Lisle, South Elgin and Yorkville.
• Heatmap counted no Texas cancellations in 2025. Our Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio trackers have five Texas projects stalled, denied or withdrawn in 2026.

The reason is the one the deciding body or developer gave on the record. Residents' concerns are in the "other reasons" column of the project table. Heatmap finds water raised in more than 40% of contested projects nationally (Heatmap), and our rows match that for residents. Councils and boards cited zoning fit, procedure and power more often.

• Douglas County's planning manager said the Liberty Road campus was "not compatible with the Dog River Basin character area" before a 4 to 1 denial (Times-Georgian).
• A circuit court voided the Prince William Digital Gateway rezoning over a defective public notice, and QTS dropped its appeal in July 2026 (WTOP).
• The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 7 to 0 that Ashville could not use an emergency designation to keep its EdgeConneX deal off the ballot. Voters decide on November 3, 2026 (Court News Ohio).
• Naperville's council voted 6 to 1 against Karis Critical, with one council member citing "the uncertainty of the future availability and cost of electricity" (Bisnow).

Moratoriums usually exempt projects that already filed or are in utility talks, so construction on those sites keeps going while new starts move later. A denial or withdrawal takes the work out of that market. Hillsboro's moratorium drew opposition from three unions, and the IBEW told San Antonio that one data center can employ 200 to 600 electrical workers for years (OPB; TPR). For commissioning teams, a stalled project can still reach testing later, so check each project's stage before you plan around it. The hiring timeline by build stage shows which roles each stage needs.

• The projects come from our data center project trackers, which list large and recent projects in each market. They are not every proposal, and they probably include more contested projects than average, so the shares describe our sample.
• Stalled means paused, in court, under a moratorium or delayed with no movement. Cancelled means denied or withdrawn.
• "Stated reason" is the reason a council, board, court or developer gave on the record. "Not stated" means we found none. Some codes are judgment calls, including Provo, Chandler and Comanche Circle.
• Market areas are wide: Hillsboro includes Salem and Cascade Locks, San Antonio includes San Marcos and Guadalupe County, and Phoenix includes Pinal County.
• Several projects could change within weeks, including Ashville's November 3 referendum, the end of Hillsboro's moratorium, and lawsuits in Warrenton, Coweta County, Joliet and DeKalb County.
• Data as of October 2026. We update the trackers monthly and plan a new edition of this study each quarter.