Public opposition to data centres is set to hit boiling point this year amid a string of crucial elections in the United States and Australia that investors warn will leave company share prices in limbo.
Social backlash has already led to $US77 billion ($110.5 billion) worth of data centre projects in North America being blocked or delayed, according to global market research firm STL Partners, with a sprawling facility proposed by Blackstone-owned QTS among the casualties.
The community unrest has spread across the globe as residents push back against the soaring electricity bills, huge water consumption and rapid infrastructure expansion needed by the data centres to power artificial intelligence.
Cyan Investment Management’s Dean Fergie warned that US data centre operators could come under further pressure before the US midterm elections in November, while in Australia, ASX-listed companies such as NextDC and Goodman could be hit as data centres take centre stage during the Victorian state election in November and the NSW poll in March.
“There is a lot of hype and optimism about the potential spoils for those rolling out data centres globally that are factored into current valuations,” said the portfolio manager.