In the context of the sharp increase in demand for electricity for data centers, many environmental organizations in the US are simultaneously calling for a temporary stop of approval and the construction of new facilities.
More than 230 organizations, including Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, have signed a joint letter to the US Congress.
The content of the document requires the issuance of a national temporary suspension order for all data center projects pending approval, citing concerns about sudden increases in electricity and water consumption.
According to the letter, the explosion of data centers in response to the fever of artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency is disrupting the community, threatening economic security, environment, climate and water resources.
Many studies have shown that the appearance of data centers often leads to high energy prices in the locality, creating direct pressure on residents' lives.
A recent survey conducted by solar energy company Sunrun shows that 8/10 US consumers are concerned about rising electricity bills due to the huge growth of data centers.
In fact, electricity prices in the US have increased by 13% this year, the highest increase in 10 years.
The impact is expected to be concentrated in some states such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New Jersey, which saw the largest expansion in data center capacity.
The energy demand for the system is expected to nearly trip by 2035, from current 40 gigawatt to 106 gigawatt.
Most of the new demand is expected to appear in rural areas, where infrastructure is not strong enough to meet.
Environmental organizations believe that in addition to energy consumption, data centers also put great pressure on water resources, while contributing to creating additional social consequences such as unemployment, instability and concentrating economic power in the hands of a number of large technology companies.
Recently, data center projects have become the focus of protests.
In Detroit, dozens of protests gathered in front of the headquarters of the utilities company DTE to protest OpenAI and Oracle's proposal to supply power to a 1.4-gigawatt data center.
People believe that the project is at risk of causing electricity prices to increase sharply, consuming too much fresh water and aggravating traffic congestion.
In Wisconsin, three people were arrested at a meeting over plans to build a 902-megawatt data center under OpenAI and Oracle's Stargate project.
These intense reactions show growing skepticism about the sustainability of data centers, which are the core infrastructure for the development of global AI.
