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Pressure Systems edition

Towns and Public Utilities Resist Data Center Buildouts

October 13, 2026

Austere editorial image representing the Pressure Systems edition “Towns and Public Utilities Resist Data Center Buildouts”.

What this edition shows

From rural Arkansas and Iowa to suburban Ontario and Montreal, local communities and public utilities are pushing back against the immense land, energy, and regulatory costs of AI data centers. As Hydro-Québec moves to double power tariffs and speculative desert megaprojects collapse in Utah, developers are deploying aggressive lawsuits against residents demanding public records. The growing friction marks a structural collision between hyperscale compute ambitions and municipal resource sovereignty across North America.

Reporting and analysis behind this edition 6 sources

  1. An Arkansas Mom Obtained Public Records About a New Data Center. Then She Got Sued.

    The Intercept — 2026-10-13

    Cases in Arkansas and California show how desperately we need a federal law against lawsuits intended to chill free speech. The post An Arkansas Mom Obtained Public Records About a New Data Center. Then She Got Sued. appeared first on The Intercept.

  2. The Great Data-Center Rebellion

    The Atlantic — 2026-09-30

    Clinton, Iowa, is topographically flat and economically declining. The sawmills that made the city rich in the late 19th century have been repurposed as a museum. One of the Victorian mansions long since abandoned by the old lumber barons is open for tours, but tourists are scarce. Clinton has shrun…

  3. Inside The Fight Against Data Centres in Canada

    PressProgress — 2026-10-02

    Mississauga is one of a growing number of municipalities pushing back against data centres in their communities. The post Inside The Fight Against Data Centres in Canada appeared first on PressProgress.

  4. Inside our months-long investigation into Kevin O’Leary’s Utah data center debacle

    The Verge — 2026-10-01

    Today I’m talking with Josh Dzieza, a longtime features writer here at The Verge, about Kevin O’Leary’s plans to build a massive data center in Utah. The idea was to build the world’s biggest data center — a 40,000-acre AI campus with nine gigawatts of power, or more than double the average power us…

  5. Hydro-Québec wants to double data centre costs, Google and others prepare rebuttal

    Canada's National Observer — 2026-10-02

    Analysts for Hydro-Québec made the case Thursday morning that the utility needs to act urgently to limit the impact of the growing data centre industry on energy costs for Quebecers. In a public hearing in Montreal, the provincial utility called for a new rate that could double the cost of energy fo…

  6. Data centers make heat all year long – here’s how the ground can hold onto it until winter

    The Conversation — 2026-10-09

    A drilling rig bores a well for a geothermal heating and cooling system. Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images You have probably noticed it on a hot summer day: A basement feels cool even when the air outside is baking. The ground does not heat up and cool down as fast as the air does…