Opposition To Data Centers In The U.S. Remains High. Dozens Of Projects Worth Billions Have Been Disrupted.

Data centers worth$68 billion have been disrupted in the U.S. in the second quarter of the year as opposition to the buildings remains high, according to a new report.

Research group Data Center Watch released a report claiming that, overall, 45 projects worth $68 billion were blocked or delayed.

"Communities nationwide imposed data center development moratoriums, often preemptively before developers expressed interest or filed permit applications," the group added. It told Bloomberg that about 30 statehouses have introduced rules related to the matter.

In this context, the House last week passed a bill seeking to shield consumers from some costs associated with the proliferation of data center across the country.

The Ratepayer Protection Act got 417 votes in favor and only 3 against. It requires state utility regulators to consider rules so that those building data centers cover some of the costs of new power generation.

It also determines that, before any upgrade to the grid is made, "an electric utility shall require the large-load customer provide to the electric utility financial assurances or contributions to cover the cost of such upgrade."

However, the bill is stalled in the Senate. Republican Sen. Jon Husted, sponsor of the Ratepayer Protection Act, requested unanimous consent for the bill in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to vote it without a roll call.

However, Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the committee, blocked the proposal, saying it doesn't go far enough. The decision, CNBC noted, all but assures that the measure won't pass before the November midterm elections.

"It's not enough to tell states to consider making data centers pay for grid updates," Heinrich said. "Rather than voluntary pledges or suggestions to states, Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth."

Most polls have shown that data centers are not being well received by communities in which they are set up. A June survey conducted by CBS News/YouGov found that 50 percent of respondents said they did not want to live near a data center. Only 20 percent said they would favor living near one, and the remaining 30 percent of respondents were unsure.

The majority of respondents said they were worried about the potential impact on local resources such as water and electricity, with 63 percent of respondents saying the impact would be mostly bad. There were also concerns about the environment generally, with 60 percent worried that data centers were mostly harmful.