Environmental Concerns Rise Over US Datacenter Expansion

More than 200 environmental groups have demanded a halt to the construction of new datacenters in the United States. According to a letter from these organizations, the rapid and largely unregulated growth of datacenters is disrupting communities and threatening the economic, environmental, climate, and water security of Americans.

This call for a moratorium comes as companies like Meta, Google, and OpenAI invest hundreds of billions of dollars into datacenter expansions to meet the substantial computing demands of artificial intelligence.

At least 16 datacenter projects, worth a combined $64 billion, have faced delays or blocks due to local opposition, primarily driven by rising electricity costs. The facilities require large amounts of water for cooling, raising concerns in areas where water is already scarce.

The report indicates that if growth continues at the current pace, datacenters could contribute up to 44 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2030, equating to the emissions of an additional 10 million cars.

This increase in carbon emissions could exacerbate the ongoing climate crisis, which is already resulting in extreme weather and affecting the American insurance market. Emily Wurth, managing director of organizing at Food & Water Watch, noted the growing grassroots, bipartisan opposition to datacenter expansions, highlighting that many Americans do not see the benefits of AI and are concerned about increased energy bills and water usage.

Wurth emphasized that utility prices have surged across the country, which is a significant concern for voters. The push for a pause on new datacenters aims to establish new regulations to address these pressing environmental and economic issues, indicating a significant intersection between technology growth and sustainability concerns.