In the last seven days, citizen opposition killed three major data center projects across two states.
Apex, North Carolina: Natelli Investments withdrew its 300 MW New Hill Digital Campus application after six months of resident pushback. Over 5,000 people signed petitions against it.
Pekin, Illinois: Mayor Mary Burress stood at Monday's city council meeting and announced the 321-acre Western Hospitality data center project "will not move forward." The room erupted in applause.
Gibraltar, Michigan: City council passed a unanimous one-year moratorium on data centers, freezing a 100 MW proposal at the former McLouth Steel site.
Three projects. Three communities. Three wins for the opposition.
THE APEX COLLAPSE
Natelli Investments had been planning the New Hill Digital Campus since September 2025. The project would have put six 70-foot buildings on 189 acres of farmland near Duke Energy's Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant.
On March 5, they pulled the plug.
"The town continues its deliberations over zoning ordinance changes necessary to permit data center development within the town's limits," Natelli wrote in a statement.
Translation: The politics got too hot.
What happened:
The Protect Wake County Coalition organized over six months. U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee posted a video opposing the project. Over 5,000 residents signed petitions. Council meetings filled with opposition.
The aftermath:
Mayor Pro-Tem Terry Mahaffey is now pushing a one-year moratorium on all data centers in Apex. The town council voted unanimously to move forward with it Tuesday night.
"It's about the space that staff would have: not having to balance an active application where there's being demands made of them," Mahaffey said. "The moratorium will allow the work to focus solely on doing what's best for Apex."
PEKIN PULLS THE PLUG
The Illinois story is even more direct.
Western Hospitality Partners had proposed a data center on 321 acres of the 1,000-acre Lutticken Farm property, land the city of Pekin purchased last year.
The opposition came fast. Residents packed city council meetings. Concerns ranged from electricity costs to noise pollution to water consumption.
Monday night, Mayor Mary Burress ended it.
"After careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision that the city of Pekin will not move forward with this project at this time."
The crowd erupted.
State Rep. Mike Tryon, who visited a data center in Aurora to understand the impact: "We've heard different reports that it starves the water system to the different homes out there and the electricity, our utility bills would have gone sky high."
The city council is expected to formally terminate the developer agreement on March 23. A town hall meeting scheduled for March 24 has been canceled.
The bottom line: A scheduled agreement termination vote and a canceled town hall. That's how fast this turned.
THE NUMBERS THEY'RE FIGHTING
On February 26, EPRI dropped its updated "Powering Intelligence 2026" report.
The headline: Data centers could consume 9% to 17% of all U.S. electricity by 2030.
Currently they consume 4-5%.
The revision: These estimates are 60% higher than EPRI's own 2024 projections, driven by the accelerated pace of development over the past 18 months.
The state-level reality:
State | Current DC Electricity Share | 2030 Projection |
|---|---|---|
Virginia | ~25% | 39% - 57% |
Arizona | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Indiana | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Iowa | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Nebraska | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Nevada | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Oregon | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Wyoming | -- | Could exceed 20% |
Seven additional states could see data centers consuming more than 20% of their electricity by 2030.
EPRI's David Porter: "As this analysis shows, the scale and speed of data center growth represent a defining moment for the U.S. power system."
GEORGIA CLAWS BACK THE TAX BREAKS
While communities were killing projects, Georgia's Senate was killing incentives.
Senate Bill 410 passed 32-21 on Crossover Day (March 6).
What it does:
Repeals state sales tax exemptions for new data centers
Phases out existing exemptions by 2028 (high-tech companies) and 2031 (data centers)
Requires utility contracts with data centers to "protect" residential and retail customers from infrastructure costs
Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan): "We could not make it any clearer for the courts. Both parties intend to ensure ratepayers will not pay the tab for upgrades for infrastructure due to data centers."
The opposition says it's not enough:
Georgia PIRG: "The Senate did not protect Georgia bill payers today. Residential and small business customers could still be on the hook for billions of dollars in data center energy costs."
Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones: "It's really, basically, stagnant. It doesn't do anything different. Basically, it says 'data centers, we'll trust you.'"
The context:
Georgia's Public Service Commission approved 10,000 megawatts of new generation in December, mostly to serve data centers. The bill now goes to the House. Final passage deadline: April 2.
THE MORATORIUM MAP: ONE WEEK
Beyond the three major kills, local moratoriums keep spreading:
Ottawa, Illinois (March 11):
City council approved six-month moratorium
Mayor Robert Hasty: "We just want to protect ourselves in case we have someone or some company who doesn't have to legally be accommodating."
Monroe Township, Ohio (last week):
Trustees passed unanimous 12-month moratorium
Covers data centers AND small modular nuclear reactors
Second township in Adams County to pass, Sprigg Township voted in late February
Monticello, Minnesota:
~500 residents signed petition against two proposed centers
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy filed lawsuit challenging review process
City has not approved either project; new regulations under discussion
Gibraltar, Michigan (March 10):
Unanimous one-year moratorium
100 MW facility proposed at former McLouth Steel site
Downriver activists plan protest today
Champaign County, Illinois:
Public hearing on 12-month moratorium scheduled for tonight (March 12)
Zoning Board of Appeals considering county-wide pause
Montgomery County, Maryland:
Data center task force legislation voted down 3-2 this week
Advocates calling for moratorium after town hall packed with opposition
Multiple large proposals pending, including at Dickerson coal plant site
FOOD & WATER WATCH: THE CASE FOR A HALT
On March 4, the same day as Trump's signing ceremony, Food & Water Watch released "The Urgent Case Against Data Centers."
Key projections for 2028:
720 billion gallons of water annually, equal to the indoor needs of 18.5 million American households
580 terawatt-hours of energy annually, enough to power 55 million households (12% of national demand)
The call: Nationwide moratorium on new data center construction.
Food & Water Watch was the first national organization to call for a moratorium, back in October. Over 230 national, state, and local organizations have since joined.
What's happening in New York:
This week, 100+ organizations sent a letter to Governor Hochul calling for passage of S.9144, the strongest moratorium bill in the country.
The bill requires:
3+ year moratorium on new facilities ≥20 MW
DEC must produce Generic Environmental Impact Statement
PSC must report on rate impacts within 18 months
No new approvals until protections are in place
Currently, New York data centers are seeking 9,000+ megawatts of new demand, 1.5x the power consumption of every household in the state in 2024.
PJM: COMPLIANCE FILINGS STACK UP
PJM has been busy since the FERC December order.
February 16: Initial compliance filing on behind-the-meter generation rules
February 23: Full compliance filing on co-located load framework, revisions to BTMG rules, transition periods, grandfathering provisions
February 27: Proposed Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) for generation facilities
What the EIT would do:
Process up to 10 interconnection requests per year
Target Generator Interconnection Agreement execution in ~10 months
Require commitment to firm commercial in-service dates
Require support from "primary siting authority or executive officer" in the state
PJM requested Commission action by May 28, effective July 31, 2026.
The timeline:
Date | Event |
|---|---|
March 18, 2026 | Responses to PJM's initial brief due |
April 17, 2026 | Reply briefs due |
May 28, 2026 | Requested EIT approval deadline |
July 31, 2026 | Requested effective date for new services |
December 18, 2028 | BTMG transition period ends |
What it means:
PJM is building a fast lane for generation that can actually deliver. If your project has firm dates and state-level support, you might get your interconnection agreement in under a year. If not, you're waiting in the regular queue, which is measured in years, not months.
THE RECORD MONTH
ConstructConnect released its March 2026 data center report this week.
January 2026 U.S. construction starts: $25.2 billion
That's the highest monthly figure since recordkeeping began in 2020.
The breakdown:
20 data center projects broke ground
Two projects valued at $10 billion each
Additional projects at $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion
Trailing 12-month total: $103.7 billion Average monthly: $8.6 billion
The geographic concentration:
East Coast (New York through South Carolina): $12.2 billion
Midwest (Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio): $12.2 billion
West of Minnesota (Texas, Arizona): $800 million
The pipeline:
65 projects worth $92.1 billion have potential start dates within six months.
The cost trend:
2020: $183/sq ft (midpoint)
2025: $415/sq ft
2026: $488/sq ft (projected)
That's an 18% compounded annual growth rate in construction costs over five years.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
The political tide is turning.
Three major projects killed in one week isn't a trend, it's a signal. The hyperscalers are committing $700 billion in capex this year, but communities are learning how to stop them.
The new calculus:
Projects in friendly jurisdictions are accelerating. Projects in contested markets are dying. The middle ground is disappearing.
For trucking/heavy haul:
The killed projects (Apex 300 MW, Pekin 321 acres, Gibraltar 100 MW) represent hundreds of millions in equipment and material moves that won't happen.
The approved projects (Louisiana $12B, Indiana $10B+, Wisconsin $13B+) represent billions that will.
Know the difference. Position equipment where the work is actually proceeding.
For electrical/power systems:
The EPRI report shows data centers hitting 9-17% of national electricity by 2030. Virginia could be at 39-57%.
That means substations, transmission upgrades, on-site generation, and grid hardening — in the states where projects are actually getting built.
The moratorium states won't need that work. The buildout states will need more than they have crews for.
For construction:
ConstructConnect shows January 2026 broke records with $25.2B in starts. But those starts are concentrating geographically.
The East Coast and Midwest each got $12.2B. West of Minnesota got $800M.
Follow the permits, not the announcements. Approved projects in friendly states beat announced projects in contested ones.
For community relations:
The playbook is clear now. Apex organized 5,000 petition signatures. Pekin filled city council chambers for months. Gibraltar went unanimous.
Projects that don't engage early are getting killed. Projects that commit publicly to local benefits (Meta's $1M/year for 20 years, Amazon's 100% infrastructure costs) are surviving.
The Georgia warning:
Georgia passed legislation clawing back tax exemptions. A state that was aggressively pro-data-center is now questioning the deal.
If Georgia is reconsidering, other states will follow.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Last week, the hyperscalers signed a pledge at the White House.
This week, citizens killed $1+ billion in projects across three states.
The pledge has no enforcement mechanism. Community opposition does.
The EPRI numbers are staggering: 9-17% of U.S. electricity by 2030. Virginia approaching 40-57%. Seven more states potentially over 20%.
The opposition is organizing: 11+ states with moratorium legislation. 25+ local moratoriums in Michigan alone. Over 250 organizations calling for a nationwide pause.
The projects aren't stopping: $25.2 billion in January starts alone. $700 billion in hyperscaler capex committed for 2026. 65 projects worth $92 billion in the six-month pipeline.
But they're concentrating. Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, Wisconsin, Arizona, those are getting built. Michigan, New York, Ohio, potentially Georgia, those are getting fought.
The Apex lesson: Six months of organized opposition killed a 300 MW project that had already been announced, planned, and partially approved.
The Pekin lesson: A mayor can kill a project with one sentence if the community makes it clear enough.
The Gibraltar lesson: Moratoriums are spreading to places that don't even have active proposals yet.
The buildout continues. But the geography is narrowing.
Position accordingly.
That's Issue #9.
Three projects killed. One state clawing back incentives. Record construction starts, but in fewer places than before.
The opposition is learning. The developers are adapting. The geography is concentrating.
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Talk next week.
Edem
The DC Pipeline: Weekly intelligence for truckers, contractors, equipment suppliers, and lenders serving the data center buildout.
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