As energy demand for data centers soars, environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on the approval and construction of new facilities.
More than 230 organizations including Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace signed a public letter urging members of Congress to support a national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers, citing rising electricity and water consumption.
“The rapid, largely unregulated rise of data centers to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” the letter reads.
Several studies have linked higher energy prices to the arrival of new data centers in a region. Consumers have been arriving at similar conclusions: A recent survey, commissioned by solar installer Sunrun, found that eight in 10 consumers were worried about data centers negatively affecting their utility bills.
Electricity prices have already shot up 13% this year, bigger than any annual increase in the past decade.
The effects are expected to be felt most in a handful of states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and New Jersey, which are slated for the largest increase in data center capacity.
Energy demand for data centers is expected to nearly triple in the coming decade, up from 40 gigawatts today to 106 gigawatts in 2035. Much of that will take place in rural areas.
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“All this compounds the significant and concerning impacts AI is having on society, including lost jobs, social instability and economic concentration,” the environmental groups said.
Proposed data centers have become a flash point in recent days.
Last week, protestors marched outside the headquarters of utility DTE in Detroit. The company is requesting approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission to supply OpenAI and Oracle with electricity for a 1.4 gigawatt data center. Protestors said they were concerned about the data center driving up electricity bills, using too much fresh water, and snarling traffic.
Also last week, three people were arrested in Wisconsin during a common council meeting about a 902 megawatt data center that’s slated to be part of OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate project.
