Americans would rather live near a nuclear power plant than a data center—by a lot

Gone are the days of the Cold War, of nuclear anxiety, of those old animated “Duck and Cover” PSAs we were shown in school: Americans are now more opposed to an AI data center in their neighborhood than a nuclear power plant. A Gallup survey conducted in March found that 71% of U.S. adults oppose the construction of an AI data center in their local area, with nearly half (48%) strongly opposed while only 27% are in favor. But perhaps the most surprising figure from the survey is that only 53% opposed a nuclear energy plant in their backyard instead, nearly 20 points lower than the data center opposition crowd. Ever since Gallup began asking the nuclear question in 2001, opposition has never exceeded 63%. This year is Gallup’s first time asking about data centers, and they blew past that ceiling on their first appearance. “Isn’t that insane?” asked Wannie Park, an energy industry veteran and CEO of PADO AI, an LG NOVA-backed platform that conducts energy management—for data centers. “I think it’s just uninformed stakeholders that aren’t really understanding what the opportunities are.” Park said the opposition often stems from a lack of knowledge on data centers—and that’s something the industry needs to do a better job of explaining. “It was just a lack of education. There’s a lack of proper marketing and communication of what this is gonna do. And, I would argue that we haven’t done a good job of that, right?” Which is… better? Park emphasized that education is the first step in making sure there’s community support at the local level—or at least, a smaller percentage of people who are vocally opposed. Perhaps none other than nuclear energy best explains that. The irony is that nuclear power carries risks data centers don’t: meltdown potential, radioactive waste that remains dangerous for thousands of years, and again, the ever constant, growing fear of a countdown clock that remains the center of many a movie to this