Why Data Centers Are Losing the Narrative — And What Comes Next

Part 1: Fear vs. Facts

There’s a growing disconnect in the data center industry, and it’s starting to have real political consequences.

In Wyoming, public backlash is building over reports that elected officials have entered into NDAs with prospective data center developers. Whether justified or not, the perception is simple and powerful: “Deals are being made behind closed doors.”

Wyoming is just one example. In communities across Oregon, Texas, and Virginia, voters didn’t just protest proposed data centers, they voted out elected officials who supported them and are holding recalls on others. In the most-prominent political upheaval to date, the St. Louis suburb of Festus, Missouri fired all four of the seven City Council Members who were up for reelection.

More than a one-off occurrence, this points to a measurable shift in how infrastructure and land use projects get approved, or rejected, in America.

If you’re in the business of building data centers, you're now both managing development risk, and political survival.

The Industry’s Blind Spot

Here’s the part that’s so frustrating for operators and developers: the industry has made real, measurable improvements.

• Data centers are more energy efficient than ever

• Cooling technologies are reducing water consumption dramatically (often to as little as toilet flush)

• Modern designs are quieter and less intrusive

• Projects often deliver meaningful tax revenue and grid investment

These are facts. But they’re not landing.

Because the conversation isn’t happening in the rational part of the brain. Rather, it’s happening in what behavioral scientists would call “fear brain.”

You Can’t Win a Fear Fight With a Fact Sheet

When communities hear “data center,” they’re not picturing efficiency gains.

They’re picturing:

• Massive buildings consuming resources

• Corporate entities extracting value

• Infrastructure that benefits “someone else”

And when you layer in secrecy, real or perceived, it accelerates distrust. NDAs, in particular, are flashpoints. From a business perspective, they’re standard practice, and quite necessary in multi-million or billion dollar deals . But from a public perspective, they feel like confirmation that something is being hidden. And once that narrative takes hold, facts don’t really matter.

The Wyoming Lesson: Process Is the Message

The situation unfolding in Wyoming is a case study in a broader truth: How you engage matters as much as what you’re proposing.

You can have:

• A best-in-class facility

• Minimal environmental impact

• Strong economic upside

But if the process feels opaque, dismissive, or rushed, none of that matters. Because communities aren’t just evaluating the project, more importantly, they’re evaluating intent. And as one would expect, intent is judged emotionally, not analytically.

When Projects Become Referendums

The example of the city council members being voted out should be a wake-up call. We’re entering an era where infrastructure decisions = political identity.

Supporting a data center can now be framed as:

• Pro-growth vs. anti-community

• Corporate-aligned vs. resident-focused

• Short-term gain vs. long-term consequence

And once it’s framed that way, the project itself almost becomes secondary. Your data center becomes a symbol, and symbols are quite powerful.

The Communication Gap No One Is Closing

Here’s the core issue:

The industry is communicating what data centers are and communities are reacting to what they think data centers mean.

Those are two very different conversations.

For example:

• Saying “we use less water” doesn’t address fear of scarcity

• Saying “we’re energy efficient” doesn’t address fear of grid strain

• Saying “we create tax revenue” doesn’t address fear of unequal benefit

Data center developers aren’t sending the wrong message, per se. Rather, data center developers are sending incomplete messages to community stakeholders.

Reframing the Narrative: From Extraction to Contribution

If the industry wants to move forward, it needs to shift the narrative from: “we need to build here” to “here’s how this improves your community—specifically.”

That requires:

• Localized storytelling (not generic talking points)

• Clear, tangible benefits tied to real people

• Transparency in process, even when it’s uncomfortable

• Early engagement, before opposition organizes

And most importantly, acknowledging concerns as valid, even when they’re based on outdated assumptions.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned in performing land use, infrastructure, and stakeholder work at Harry, it’s that dismissing fear doesn’t reduce it, it actually amplifies it.

The NDA Problem Isn’t Legal—It’s Emotional

Let’s talk about NDAs. From the developer side, they’re standard operating procedure, and rightly so, because site selection, negotiations, incentives all require confidentiality. However, from a community standpoint, NDAs trigger a different reaction:

• “Why can’t they tell us?”

• “What are they hiding?”

• “Who’s benefiting from this?”

It doesn’t matter if the answers are benign because the perception of secrecy creates a narrative. And ultimately, that narrative gets filled with suspicion.

The New Playbook: Lead With Trust, Not Just Facts

The companies that succeed in this environment will do something different: They will treat trust as a prerequisite instead of an outcome. What we mean by that is that successful data center developers will:

• Take time to explain the process, not just the project

• Set expectations early about what can and cannot be disclosed

• Create opportunities for dialogue, not just presentations

• Build relationships before approvals are needed

This type of proactive approach is key because once opposition hardens, you’re defending instead of persuading through adult conversations.

The Industry Is Late to This Shift

Other industries have been here before.

• Energy

• Real estate development

• Telecommunications

  
  

They’ve all learned—sometimes the hard way—that community acceptance isn’t a box to check, but rather an important (and a cost-savings) strategy to execute. The good news is that the data center industry is catching up, but it’s doing so under pressure, and in many cases, mid-project. This adds costly delays to projects.

Why This Matters Now

The demand for data centers isn’t slowing down. If anything, AI is accelerating it beyond previous forecasts, which means more projects, in more communities, under more scrutiny. The stakes are higher than ever because delays cost money and, more importantly, momentum. And in a race driven by scale and speed, momentum is the name of the game.

Final Thought: You’re Not Just Building Infrastructure—You’re Building Permission

The industry has spent years perfecting how to build data centers. Now it needs to learn how to earn the right to build them. That’s both a different skill set and a different mindset. And, more importantly, a different investment. Because in today’s environment, the question isn’t: “is this a good project?” It’s: “do we trust the people bringing it here?”

And if the answer to that question is no, nothing else matters.

Bob Knight is CEO of Harry Marketing. He can be reached at: bob@harry.marketing