Americans have become more likely since January to view data centers as harmful to the environment, household energy costs and nearby quality of life, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Six in 10 adults also said they would be uncomfortable with a new data center operating near them.
In the survey, 54% said data centers are mostly bad for the environment, up from 39% in January. Half said they are mostly bad for home energy costs, up from 38%, while 49% said they are mostly bad for nearby quality of life, up from 30%.
Those numbers describe public perceptions, not measured environmental, utility-bill or neighborhood effects. Pew surveyed 10,548 U.S. adults from July 20 to Aug. 9 through its American Trends Panel and compared their responses with a survey conducted in January.
Concerns rise across groups
Pew found more negative views among men and women and across age and education groups. Among rural adults, the share calling data centers mostly bad for the environment rose from 32% in January to 50% in the latest survey. The share saying they are mostly bad for home energy costs rose from 32% to 46%, and for nearby quality of life from 28% to 45%.
Urban and suburban adults also became more likely to view those effects negatively, Pew reported. The survey did not measure actual changes in energy costs, pollution or local conditions in those communities.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remained more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to see negative effects. But Republican views shifted too: 42% of Republicans said data centers are mostly bad for nearby quality of life, up from 24% in January.
Views of jobs and tax revenue were more divided. Between 21% and 24% of adults described data centers' effects on each of those areas as mostly good or mostly bad. The share calling them mostly bad for local jobs rose from 15% to 24%; for local tax revenue, it rose from 12% to 21%.
Liberal Democrats were a particular driver of concern about tax revenue: 34% said data centers are mostly bad for it, up from 19% in January. Republicans remained more likely to call the effects on jobs and tax revenue good than bad, though their negative responses rose seven percentage points on both questions.
Most would be uncomfortable with a nearby facility
Asked about a new data center in their area, 60% said they would be not too or not at all comfortable. Another 19% said they would be somewhat comfortable, while 7% said they would be very or extremely comfortable. The survey also found 68% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans would be uncomfortable.
Pew said majorities in urban, suburban and rural areas gave an uncomfortable response. Among liberal Democrats, the share was 81%.
Awareness has increased as well. The share saying they had heard or read a lot about data centers rose from 25% in January to 35% in the latest survey, and 88% said they had heard at least a little. Still, 12% said they had not heard of them, and 18% to 32% were unsure about particular impacts Pew asked them to assess.
The results show changing opinion during a period of debate over data-center construction. They do not establish that the facilities' actual effects changed between the two surveys.
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