Archived: In this U.S. hot spot for data centers, voters have turned against them

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itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2026-04-15T09:00:00.105Z">4/15/2026</time><contexter-summary class="p-summary entry-summary" itemprop="abstract" slot="summary"><p>Findings from a new Washington Post-Schar School poll come as Prince William County on Tuesday abandoned plans for one of the country’s biggest and most controversial data center projects.</p></contexter-summary><contexter-keywordset itemprop="keywords" slot="keywords"><span rel="category tag" class="p-category" itemprop="keywords">Business</span></contexter-keywordset><a is="contexter-link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/15/data-centers-poll-virginia/" class="read-link main-link" itemprop="sameAs" slot="read-link">Read</a><a href="https://context.center/timegate/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/15/data-centers-poll-virginia/" is="contexter-link" target="_blank" class="read-link archive-link" itemprop="archivedAt" slot="archive-link">Archived</a></contexter-box>

In this U.S. hot spot for data centers, voters have turned against them

The Washington Post

4/15/2026

Findings from a new Washington Post-Schar School poll come as Prince William County on Tuesday abandoned plans for one of the country’s biggest and most controversial data center projects.

Business

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Findings from a new Washington Post-Schar School poll come as Prince William County on Tuesday abandoned plans for one of the country’s biggest and most controversial data center projects.

Updated April 15, 2026

On what was previously farmland, Amazon data centers have been built as close as 50 feet from residential houses in the Loudoun Meadows neighborhood in Aldie, Virginia. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Voters in Virginia, a global hub for the hulking warehouses of computers known as data centers, have turned sharply against the facilities after previously welcoming them, a Washington Post-Schar School poll has found.