# The data center backlash may be more about electricity than Big Tech admits

> Original title: The backlash about data centers might really just be about electricity

- Source: MIT Technology Review · AI
- Published: 2026-11-09T19:35:33.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/qvt2awum1awj256n11kixzdiw
- Original: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/11/09/1148194/the-backlash-about-data-centers-might-really-just-be-about-electricity/

## Summary

MIT Technology Review's Algorithm newsletter argues that the backlash against data centers is driven largely by electricity demand rather than a broader culture war. In Virginia's Loudoun County, most data centers draw power from the grid, and Dominion Energy generates much of it from natural gas. Recent protests have led Virginia to require data centers to pay fully for new transmission lines.