AI Data Center Plans Halted in Nottingham After Heated Public Opposition
May 27, 2026
AI Data Center Plans Halted in Nottingham After Heated Public Opposition
A controversial proposal to build an artificial intelligence data center in Nottingham, New Hampshire, has been temporarily shelved after hundreds of residents turned out to voice their opposition at a public meeting. The decision underscores a growing nationwide backlash against the rapid expansion of energy-intensive data center infrastructure in residential and rural areas.
Developer Tom Moulton, owner of the Nottingham Business Center property on Route 4, withdrew his application just before the Planning Board meeting on Wednesday night. In a brief statement read by Board Chair Drew Stevens, Moulton said he was stepping back in the face of community resistance but added that he plans to continue researching data center development and may return with a future proposal. The board, anticipating a large crowd, moved the meeting from the town office to the school gymnasium.
The meeting drew a diverse crowd, including local residents, children, senior citizens, political candidates, and even a few mask-clad socialist agitators. Many lined up to speak against any data center in town, citing concerns over environmental damage, noise pollution, and the massive consumption of water and electricity. State Representative Scott Byer, a Republican from neighboring Northwood, told attendees he opposed hosting a data center in his own district and offered to assist Nottingham residents in their fight.
Data centers, which house the powerful computing systems needed to run artificial intelligence programs, have become a flashpoint in many communities. A single large facility can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling—enough to support 10,000 to 15,000 people—and place enormous strain on local electricity grids. While developers pay for their own power usage, utility customers often end up subsidizing the cost of rapid grid upgrades, leading to higher bills for everyone.
The Nottingham proposal also faced a regulatory hurdle: New Hampshire law currently lacks a legal definition for data centers, meaning municipalities cannot craft local zoning ordinances to regulate them. A bill that would have granted local communities that authority was killed in the state Senate earlier this year after pro-AI legislators amended it to make it easier for data center operators to set up in the Granite State.
Moulton’s 100-acre property has a history of controversy. It was previously the site of a proposed bottled water plant by USA Springs, which planned to pump 300,000 gallons of water daily for overseas sale. That project collapsed amid fierce local opposition and the 2008 recession. The town seized the property in 2017 for unpaid taxes, and Moulton purchased it for $900,000 in 2021. The site currently has no active businesses, and about 40 acres of the land are developable, with the rest classified as wetlands.
The withdrawal of the application does not end the debate. Residents and local officials have signaled they will remain vigilant, and the episode highlights the growing tension between the demand for AI infrastructure and the desire of communities to protect their natural resources and quality of life.
Source: indepthnh
