Ben Mann joins The Signal to discuss why data center projects across the U.S. are running into growing political and community opposition. Ross Litkenhous External Link, Oasis Digital External Link, argued that the industry can no longer rely on "by-right" development and must embrace proactive community engagement, transparent communication, and consensus-building to secure approvals.
Oasis Digital's approach has been to identify emerging data center markets outside Northern Virginia and invest heavily in stakeholder outreach before entitlement applications are submitted. According to Litkenhous, successful projects are increasingly determined not only by power availability, but by community acceptance and zoning approvals.
