Texas spent years positioning itself as the promised land for crypto miners and data center operators. That welcome mat is getting pulled.
A Greenpeace-backed campaign, bolstered by grassroots activists and online opposition, is fueling a coordinated backlash against energy-intensive data center projects across the state. The movement has grown from scattered local complaints into something much harder to ignore: a statewide shift in public sentiment that’s already freezing billions of dollars in planned development.
The numbers tell the story
A University of Texas poll from June 2026 found that 56% of Texans now oppose data center construction in their communities. In rural areas, where these facilities tend to land, that number climbs to 62%. The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 points, meaning even the most generous reading still shows majority opposition statewide.
The resistance isn’t just talk. At least 75 data center projects, collectively worth roughly $130 billion, were stalled or blocked during the first quarter of 2026 alone. Hill County, Texas, went a step further in May 2026, enacting a one-year moratorium on all new data center construction after sustained public outcry.
