Shocking statistic — the American public would rather have a nuclear power plant in their neighborhood (44%) than a datacenter (15%)
h/t @johnarnold pic.twitter.com/7cXdWsbmSN
— Stock Talk (@stocktalkweekly) August 20, 2026
New Heatmap Pro poll from mid-August 2026.
44 percent support a nuclear power plant near where they live.
Only 15 percent support a data center (4 percent strongly, 11 percent somewhat).
75 percent oppose a local data center, 61 percent strongly oppose.
Support for data centers crashed from 43 percent a year ago.
Same drop across parties, ages, and rural-urban lines.
People blame high power bills, water use, noise and AI itself.
https://heatmap.news/daily/data-center-opposition-poll-collapse
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/08/02/the-new-luddites-01017824
Heatmap’s own August poll shows support collapsing another 6 points since May.
Over 200 local moratoriums already in place across the country.
Developers suing New Jersey towns that banned data centers, calling it public hysteria.
National day of protests hit 142 locations in 42 states in July.
First-quarter 2026 saw $130 billion in projects blocked or delayed by local fights.