An eerie image shows how a huge data center has brought permanent artificial daylight to a rural Texas community, with hatred of the facilities now uniting Americans on the left and right.
In Crowell, a small town surrounded by cotton, wheat and cattle fields, residents are lucky enough to look up on clear, pitch-black nights and see skies filled with bright stars – something rarely seen in more populated areas.
But on Wednesday, one resident shared a backyard photo of an ordinary spring night, where a bright white glow cut through the trees.
‘If you want to see the effects of a data center first hand, come on over to my place after dark tonight and look east,’ the resident wrote in a Facebook thread.
He said the artificial light is ‘shining even brighter than the entire city,’ adding that it is ‘polluting the sky so badly you cannot even see the stars we sing about shining big and bright.’
Another resident shared a video from the same night, describing a continuous low humming sound in place of crickets.
Crowell, a town of nearly 800 residents, is the latest community gearing up for a hyperscale data center – part of a wave quietly popping up in communities across the US to power the artificial intelligence boom.
The multibillion-dollar projects, including Crowell’s expected $40 billion facility, have led both Democrats and Republicans to unite in flooding town halls to voice their opposition.
An eerie image of Crowell, rural Texas, shows a bright white glow from a new data center cutting through backyard trees
Opposition of the expected $40 billion data center in Crowell united both Democrats and Republicans
Crowell, a town of nearly 800 residents, is the latest community where a data center has quietly popped up
Light from a data center seen in Washington
Dystopian photos of Crowell’s night sky are not a rare occurrence
‘There is a political realignment going on,’ environmental activist Christy McGillivray told The New York Times.
‘I feel like the ground is shifting under my feet. The words I have used my entire life to describe politics are not adequate anymore,’ she added.
Data centers are emerging as powerful new forces because of the sheer amount of energy, water and land they demand, while also threatening to reshape the areas where they are developed.
Supporters, including local officials, are turning to these massive projects to bring jobs and tax revenue to struggling economies, while appealing to farmers looking to sell land and unions seeking construction work.
Meanwhile, as data centers continue to expand, Americans are becoming increasingly furious over electricity prices, declining home values, environmental concerns and fears surrounding AI.
‘I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, we’re all coming together to fight this,’ Republican Starlet Peedle told The Times.
In Texas, residents are banding together to raise concerns about water use, as more than 60 percent of the state faces an increasingly severe water crisis fueled by drought and rapid population growth.
Julie Waters, born and raised in Crowell, shared several lengthy Facebook posts encouraging residents to compile a list of questions and attend town meetings in large numbers to demand answers.
Dystopian photos of Crowell’s night sky are not a rare occurrence in the US (pictured several miles away)
Data centers require a sheer amount of energy, water and land (Crowell)
Texas residents raised concerns about water being used, as 60 percent of the state faces an increasingly severe water crisis
Waters shared a video driving through the data center site, showing farmland being torn up by machinery
Light pollution illuminating a New Jersey neighborhood at night
‘We can’t deplete our natural resources in the name of AI. My elderly parents need clean water. Farmers and ranchers must be able to grow crops and raise cattle,’ Waters wrote.
‘The most shocking thing that I have learned is the enormous, absolutely MASSIVE proliferation of data centers in the US in the last couple of years,’ she added.
‘It is absolutely mind blowing. And in Texas alone, it will be hard to find a county untouched.’
In a separate post, Waters shared a video driving through the data center site, showing farmland being torn up by machinery. Trucks, buildings and wind turbines were scattered haphazardly across the once-clear landscape.
Her posts have drawn hundreds of comments in recent weeks, with some warning that the skyline will ‘FOREVER change’ and that the project will ‘USE UP ALL RESOURCES AND LEAVE THAT TOWN DRIED UP.’
Dystopian photos of Crowell’s night sky are not a rare occurrence, however, and have since exposed a growing light pollution problem spreading across the nation.
On Facebook, a man named Jeff Lambert posted photos from his nighttime drive home in New Jersey showing a bright white hue illuminating the sky over the land and surrounding homes.
‘First the data center noise…now we have THIS?? Hold onto your seats! It’s like daytime for over a mile all around it – blinding light in both directions,’ he wrote.
Data centers have unexpectedly bridged the partisan divide, in part due to the size of the projects, their sudden rollout and the so-called secrecy surrounding them.
Citizens of all political stripes, including Peedle, largely agree that the projects have left residents with an uneasy feeling of being lied to, though that shared sentiment has also proven motivating.
Peedle, a Michigan resident, said even meetings with town officials felt like a ‘marketing session,’ adding that the project and those involved felt ‘sneaky.’
Often, the proposals are given unusual names such as ‘Project Cannoli,’ ‘Project Cherry Blossom,’ and, in Peedle’s Lyon Township community, ‘Project Flex.’
‘I don’t know why it wasn’t just called “Project Data Center,”‘ Geoff Barker, another resident, said during a town meeting, according to the outlet.
‘I mean it could have been “Project Evasive” or “Project Disingenuous,”‘ he added.
Republicans and Democrats across the state have been collaborating via Signal chats and Facebook groups, working together to obtain government documents, gather signatures and raise legal funds, according to The Times.
Virginia and Wisconsin appear to be on the same trajectory, as a recent poll shows public opinion has turned sharply against data centers.
On Facebook, New Jersey resident Jeff Lambert shared images of light pollution from data centers
Often, the proposals are given unusual names such as ‘Project Cannoli,’ ‘Project Cherry Blossom’
Light from data center captured at night in Michigan
Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School Poll, told the outlet that around 70 percent of Wisconsin residents believe the benefits aren’t worth it, adding that the issue has become unusually unifying.
‘There was stunningly little difference for our normally extremely polarized state,’ he said.
Even comedy has picked up on the widespread hatred of data centers, with Milwaukee-based performer Charlie Berens saying, ‘This is the most bipartisan issue since beer.’
In Maine, a data center crackdown lasted only briefly last month before a Democratic governor vetoed it, according to the NYT. But the push is already spreading to 13-plus states and dozens of towns.
In some cases, the politics are even outpacing policy, with an Indianapolis councilman saying a gunman recently fired 13 shots into his home – injuring no one – and left a note reading, ‘No Data Centers,’ according to The New York Times.
