Power firms seize land amid data center public opposition
Power companies are turning to eminent domain to secure land for transmission lines that serve AI facilities, even as polling shows about 70% of Americans oppose nearby centers. That clash between grid demand and data center public opposition is already forcing homeowners to sell.
Key Takeaways
- About seven in 10 Americans oppose AI data centers in their communities, citing bills, pollution, noise and lost green space.
- Utilities in states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania have turned to eminent domain for transmission corridors tied to soaring power demand.
- Georgia Power says a planned line would send 70–80% of its power to data centers and must acquire more than 300 parcels.
- A Coweta County family agreed to sell after saying the utility could otherwise seek the home through condemnation.
- Courts often allow utility takings for in-state reliability, though landowners may still challenge “public use” under state law.
The United States now hosts more than 3,000 data centers, with another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis cited by Fortune. In 2024, those facilities used more than 4% of U.S. electricity, and demand is still rising.
That surge is colliding with Future Tech & AI Wonders coverage of local backlash: polling shows roughly seven in 10 Americans do not want AI data centers built nearby.
Why are power companies seizing land for data centers?
Data centers need huge amounts of electricity, which can stress grids and threaten reliability. To keep up, utilities must build new transmission lines and acquire the land those lines cross.
Where owners refuse to sell easements, companies can seek eminent domain—the power to take private property with “just compensation” when a project is framed as a public use under the Fifth Amendment. Governments often delegate that power to utilities.
Legal scholar Aaron Walayat, writing for Fortune via The Conversation, notes disputes in Georgia and Pennsylvania as utilities pursue corridors linked to data-center load growth.
What happened to the Georgia family fighting Georgia Power?
According to CBS News, Georgia Power plans a new transmission line partly to serve data centers. The utility estimates 70–80% of power on the line would go to those facilities, with 20–30% meeting growing residential and commercial demand.
The project requires acquiring more than 300 parcels, including homes. Ansley Brown said her childhood house in Coweta County was meant to be “true generational wealth.” Her mother recently agreed to sell; Brown said Georgia Power could otherwise have sought the property through eminent domain.
“To us it's theft,” Brown told CBS News, arguing a billion-dollar company was taking land from people who “can't fight back.” She also warned that tearing down “35 miles of rural Georgia” would hurt communities and wildlife.
Spokesperson Holly Lovett said eminent domain “is always … a last resort” and something the company “never want[s] to do.” Georgia Power told CBS it negotiated in good faith and does not publish customer lists for safety reasons. Brown said her mother wants an apology.
Can landowners stop eminent domain for AI infrastructure?
Federal courts interpret “public use” broadly, but after the 2005 Kelo decision, 45 states passed reform laws. Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma courts have blocked purely private economic-development takings.
Utility cases often succeed when lines improve in-state reliability, as supreme courts in South Dakota and Vermont have held. Mississippi once rejected a taking that would not benefit in-state customers. Walayat says reliability arguments will often win—but who truly benefits can still be contested.
For communities already saying “not in my backyard,” the fight is no longer abstract: transmission routes, forced sales and data center public opposition are colliding on the same maps.