Eric Eve spoke with The Washington Post about the national rise in community opposition to data center development—and why projects are increasingly won or lost at the local level.

His perspective reflects a broader shift: infrastructure challenges are no longer primarily technical—they are social, political, and community-driven.

“What is happening in Virginia is happening around the country,” said Eric Eve, a White House aide during the Clinton era and a former vice president for global community relations at Citi who now helps corporate clients build local relationships.

“Americans are asking: Why am I supporting the evolution of something that could be so incredibly destructive without understanding how it benefits me?” Eve said. Rising energy costs and the drive by Silicon Valley firms to deploy a technology that its leaders say will automate many jobs add to the discomfort, Eve said.