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Follow See All Column (https://www.theverge.com/column) • AI AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All AI (https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence) • Policy Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All Policy (https://www.theverge.com/policy) The fight against AI data centers is just beginning Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. by Emma Roth Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All by Emma Roth (https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth) Jul 12, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC * * 0 0 Comments (https://www.theverge.com/column/963346/ai-data-centers-fight#comments) A yard sign opposing a planned data center is displayed along Route 54 in Mount Carmel Township Northumberland County. | Image: Getty Images • Column Column Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All Column (https://www.theverge.com/column) • AI AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All AI (https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence) • Policy Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All Policy (https://www.theverge.com/policy) The fight against AI data centers is just beginning Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans. by Emma Roth Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All by Emma Roth (https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth) Jul 12, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC * * 0 0 Comments (https://www.theverge.com/column/963346/ai-data-centers-fight#comments) https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth Emma Roth Emma Roth Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All by Emma Roth (https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth) is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. _This is_The Stepback (https://www.theverge.com/the-stepback-newsletter), a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the data center buildout, follow Emma Roth (https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth). The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here (https://www.theverge.com/newsletters). How it started Years before the AI boom threatened local power grids, a small group of protesters set the stage for the battles cropping up across communities today. In 2015, Apple announced plans (https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/23/8089311/apple-european-data-centers-nearly-2-billion) to build a roughly $1 billion (https://www.businessinsider.com/apples-850-million-irish-data-centre-hangs-in-the-balance-2016-10) data center in the sleepy town of Athenry, Ireland. The data center’s 500-acre site would power Apple’s services in Europe, including iTunes, iMessage, and Siri. At the time, Apple said the data center would offer outdoor education spaces, walking trails, and an initiative to replant native trees. It would also use 100 percent renewable energy. With the approval from the local government and plans to give back to the community, Apple likely didn’t anticipate the lengthy battle it was about to face. Apple’s building plans were quickly derailed after Irish residents lodged complaints (https://www.businessinsider.com/apples-850-million-irish-data-centre-is-on-hold-2016-2?r=UK&IR=T) to the country’s independent planning board about the expected noise, light pollution, flooding, traffic, and impact on local wildlife. While the board ultimately approved Apple’s facility in 2016 (https://www.irishtimes.com/business/construction/an-bord-pleanala-gives-green-light-for-apple-data-centre-1.2754006), the fight didn’t end there, as residents applied for judicial review of the board’s decision in the Irish High Court. In 2017, the Irish High Court ruled in favor (https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/irelands-high-court-rules-in-favor-of-apples-athenry-project/) of Apple, but the pair of activists behind the appeal wanted to bring the decision (https://www.thejournal.ie/apple-athenry-data-centre-supreme-court-2-3733210-Dec2017/) before Ireland’s Supreme Court — and that was finally enough for Apple to call it quits. Subscribe to The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/column/963346/ai-data-centers-fight)to continue reading. Most Popular Most Popular 1. ICE are heavily armed killers. They’re also huge losers (https://www.theverge.com/policy/964302/ice-donald-trump-killings) 2. 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