As more and more communities have watched data centers affect their lives, a growing number have pushed back vehemently against their unfettered development. In response, data center developers have grown more sophisticated with tactics to maintain business as usual: They’ve entered communities in secrecy under shell companies; they’ve donated to community programs to dampen resistance; they’ve made promises to cities about the sustainability of their facilities before walking them back one by one after projects have broken ground and are more difficult to reverse.
