Data Centers & Environmental Justice

Data centers hold technology infrastructure used for digital storage, communication, and to process computing demands for other programs. While data centers have existed for decades, hyperscale data centers hold tens of thousands of servers and have drawn national attention due to using far more power and water than traditional data centers. Hyperscale data centers and similar facilities are being constructed and operated across the U.S. at an accelerating rate, largely linked to investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is often happening without considering impacts on host communities, and/or without their consent or knowledge.

DATA CENTER IMPACTS

Electricity Consumption & Rate Hikes

Electricity consumption from data centers has grown about 12 percent every year for the past 5 years. In 2024, data centers used up 183 terawatt hours of electricity, which is about 4.4 percent of total electricity usage in the country.

Electricity consumption from data centers has been linked with increased utilities costs with rates rising as much as 8 percent nationally and 25 percent in data center hotspots.

Air Pollution

Data Centers often use on-site power plants, usually in the form of diesel generators, that are less efficient and more polluting than energy from local power grids. Nearly 40 percent of new gas capacity is going towards on-site power plants.
Diesel generators release high levels of toxic carcinogenic pollutants into local communities.

Climate Pollution

Data center developers are increasingly turning to fossil fuels for power, in many cases reviving retired dirty coal and gas power plants.
Data centers have tripled the demand for gas-fired power in the U.S. over the past two years. These actions extend our dependence on fossil fuels, adding to increasing climate-driven extreme disasters and weather, and undermine the necessary transition to safer, more affordable renewable energy.

Water Consumption and Contamination

Data centers require extensive cooling to avoid overheating infrastructure: “Even a mid-sized data center consumes as much water as a small town, while larger ones require up to 5 million gallons of water every day—as much as a city of 50,000 people.”
The cooling and fire suppressant equipment used by data centers use PFAS or “forever chemicals,” which contaminate waterways and are linked to a number of health conditions.
Manufacturing processes for the PFAS components of data centers have been documented as releasing the chemicals into drinking water.

Noise Pollution

Noise from data centers comes from multiple sources such as servers, equipment, cooling systems, and generators. These noises, often described as a “high-pitch whine” ranging from 55 to 85 dbA, can cause disturbed sleep, hearing problems, and an overall harm to quality of life for humans and wildlife alike.

Lack of Transparency

Many data center developers enter nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with local governments that prevent communities from knowing what is going on in their own neighborhoods.
In Virginia, a data center hotspot, 25 of 31 localities utilized NDAs. This practice is anti-democratic and hinders public engagement into decision making processes.

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