More than three-quarters of Marylanders oppose new data centers being built in the state and their communities, according to a new poll released Thursday.
The survey from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Institute of Politics found that just 13% of respondents support new data centers in the state and just 16% support data centers being built near their communities.
The survey of 776 likely voters was conducted Sept. 22-27 via landlines, cellphones and text messages. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
Data centers have become a hot political topic, as officials wrestle with whether and how to regulate their construction and operation.
The poll sends a strong message that Marylanders are concerned: Opposition to data center construction cuts across every demographic measured in the poll, with strong majorities opposing it regardless of party affiliation, gender, geography, age, education or income level.
Across the state and the country, residents have raised concerns that loud, unsightly data centers may compromise the electric power grid and have negative environmental impacts.
And data centers have become an issue in the race for governor.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who previously touted data centers as a potential economic engine, recently announced proposals including a set of standards for reviewing new data centers and a task force to study their impacts. He did not go so far as to propose a pause or ban on new data centers, as many local governments and some governors in other states have done.
The proposal is a change for Moore, who previously supported legislation to smooth the construction of data centers and vetoed legislation to study their impacts. His administration also warned against repealing a 2020 tax break for data centers.
Dan Cox, Moore’s Republican challenger, voted for that tax break when he was in the House of Delegates. But Cox now says there should be a moratorium on the largest data centers, known as hyperscale centers.
Green Party candidate Andy Ellis has made fighting data centers a central part of his platform.
“We’re demanding a ban,” Ellis said in a statement after Moore’s announcement. “A moratorium is a half-measure, but a task force is nothing. It’s lip-service, it’s cowardly, and it does nothing to stop extractive corporations.”
Cathy White, a Working Class Party candidate, told The Banner last month through her running mate, Cathy Permut, that they remained “skeptical” that the benefits of emerging technologies would be shared equitably.
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