Americans want data centres to pay their energy way

The Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University has announced a new climate note on what Americans think about data centres. What are your views?

New analysis: What do the Six Americas think about data centers?

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new Climate Note, “What do Global Warming’s Six Americas think about data centers?”

The number of data centers is rapidly increasing across the United States as investment in artificial intelligence grows. Although data centers can generate economic benefits, they also increase demand for electricity, water, and land, with potential public health implications. To address the electricity needs of data centers, some have proposed that developers, rather than building new power plants just for data centers, should instead install rooftop solar on and/or help weatherize and insulate nearby homes for homeowners who want it.

Public opinion plays an important role in shaping decisions about future data center development. In our latest Climate Change in the American Mind survey, conducted in Spring 2026, we asked Americans about their views on local data center development, whether they think new data centers will affect electricity bills, and whether they support requiring new data centers to offset their electricity use by installing rooftop solar on and/or weatherizing and insulating local homes. This analysis examines how public opinion about these questions differs across Global Warming’s Six Americas, our framework for understanding the spectrum of views on global warming.

Key Findings

Results 

A majority of Americans (56%) “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose building a data center in their local area, while only 15% “strongly” or “somewhat” support building one. Opposition varies across Global Warming’s Six Americas, ranging from 71% among the Alarmed to 32% among the Disengaged. Majorities of the Concerned (58%) and the Dismissive (57%) are opposed, while about half or less of the Doubtful (49%) and the Cautious (45%) oppose building a data center in their local area.

A majority of Americans (59%) also think their electricity bills would increase “a lot” or “a little” if a data center opened in their local area, while only 5% think they would decrease, and 25% don’t know. Expectations that electricity bills would increase vary across Global Warming’s Six Americas, ranging from 65% among the Alarmed to 43% among the Disengaged. Majorities of the Concerned (63%), Dismissive (59%), Doubtful (55%), and Cautious (52%) also think electricity bills would increase. The Disengaged are the most likely to say they don’t know (42%).

A large majority of Americans (73%) “strongly” or “somewhat” support a proposalrequiring new data centers to offset their electricity use by installing rooftop solar on, and/or helping to weatherize and insulate nearby homes, while only 26% oppose it. Although support varies across Global Warming’s Six Americas, majorities of the Concerned (83%), Alarmed (81%), Doubtful (71%), Cautious (70%), and Disengaged (56%) all support the proposal. Support is lower among the Dismissive, but 47% still support the proposal while 52% oppose it.

Conclusion 

Although the Six Americas have sharply divergent views on the issue of global warming, majorities of the Alarmed, Concerned, and Dismissive are all opposed to building data centers in their local area. Additionally, among the Cautious, Disengaged, and Doubtful, opposition outweighs support by a margin of at least 2 to 1. There is even greater agreement among the Six Americas about the effect of data centers on electricity prices. Majorities of all the segments, except for the Disengaged, think their electricity bills would increase if a new data center opened in their area. This demonstrates that people with widely different beliefs about global warming nonetheless currently have similar views about data centers.

Notably, the Disengaged were the most likely of the six segments to say they neither support nor oppose building a data center in their local area (59%) and that they don’t know what effect it would have on their electricity bills if a new data center opened in their local area (42%). This suggests that, like the issue of global warming, many of the Disengaged have not yet formed strong opinions about data centers. Although prior research suggests the Disengaged (7% of Americans) may be harder to reach because they are less likely to pay close attention to the news, there may be an opportunity to educate members of the Disengaged about the effects of data centers on electricity prices and public health, as well as their broader implications for global warming.

Majorities of the Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, and Doubtful support requiring new data centers to offset their electricity use by installing rooftop solar on and/or helping to weatherize and insulate nearby homes. The Dismissive are the only segment where less than a majority support this proposal, although 47% still support it, suggesting that a substantial share of this group is willing to support local clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades in the context of this proposal.

The findings demonstrate the value of examining public opinion through the lens of Global Warming’s Six Americas. Understanding how different audiences perceive the benefits and trade-offs of data center development can help inform more targeted communication, community engagement, and policy discussions as data center expansion continues across the United States.
The complete Climate Note, including details about the analysis methods, can be found on their website.