Above photo: Community members in Prince George’s County, Maryland, gather for a rally in September that led to a moratorium on data centers being built there. No Landover Data Center Coalition.
Letter to Congress Cites Massive Energy and Water Consumption, Ratepayer Turmoil.
Washington – In a letter sent to Congress today, more than 230 national, state and local organizations from across the country called for a full national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers. The letter cites massive and unsustainable consumption by data centers of energy and water resources, and skyrocking utility costs for families and small businesses. The letter was facilitated by the national environmental group Food & Water Watch, and signed by organizations including Physicians for Social Responsibility, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Progressive Democrats of America, Our Revolution and Americans for Financial Reform.
The letter states, in part:
“The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto booms, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation. This expansion is rapidly increasing demand for energy, driving more fossil fuel pollution, straining water resources and raising electricity prices across the country… We urge you to join our call for a national moratorium on new data centers until adequate regulations can be enacted to fully protect our communities, our families, our environment and our health from the runaway damage this industry is already inflicting.”
“At a time when millions of Americans are already struggling with soaring utility costs, the sudden explosion of the Big Data industry represents an existential threat for communities ill-equipped to handle the massive environmental and economic hardships these data centers inflict,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “The only prudent action is to halt the unfettered expansion of this dangerous industry in order to properly examine all manner of potential harm before it’s too late.”
Already, energy demand from data centers in the U.S. is expected to increase up to threefold between 2023 and 2028. And recent analysis from Food & Water Watch found that by 2028, AI-supporting data centers could consume:
- 720 billion gallons of water annually simply to cool the facilities — equal to more than 1 million Olympic-size swimming pools, or enough water to meet the indoor needs of 18.5 million American households.
- 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually — enough electricity to power over 28 million American households.
Meanwhile, this summer the Trump administration released an “AI Action Plan,” which outlines its priorities related to the advancement of so-called “artificial intelligence” and the industries supporting it – including massive energy- and water-intensive data centers. Among other things, Trump’s plan seeks to dismantle existing environmental and land use rules that it views as a hindrance to the unfettered growth of these industries.
In October, Food & Water Watch initially called for a full moratorium on data center approval and construction, likely becoming the first national organization to do so.
