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Learn how the rapid growth of data centers is affecting electricity bills, public health, communities and the environment and what you can do about it.
Data centers, the physical infrastructure driving the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and our increasingly digital lives, are expanding at an unprecedented pace and scale around the world. This growth is creating enormous new demand for electricity and other resources, with consequences for communities and the environment. In the United States, where data center development is increasing, unbridled growth could raise electricity bills for families and small businesses, overload power grids and water supplies, increase pollution, and slow progress toward a clean energy future.
Communities should not be left to bear the costs of this expansion without a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect them. People deserve transparency and a real say in whether and how data centers are built. The wealthy tech companies driving this growth should pay for the infrastructure their facilities require rather than passing those costs on to the public, provide new clean energy to meet new electricity demand, and comply with strong protections for public health and the environment.
Linked below are fact sheets, expert blogs, guides and other resources that explore the impacts of data center development in the United States and around the world, as well as solutions that can help ensure that people and the planet remain at the center of future decisions.
AI has an energy problem
Asking ChatGPT a quick question may seem harmless, but you may end up paying for it in the long run. The huge data centers that are popping up across the country to support the AI boom are consuming huge amounts of energy and water and generating noise and air pollution. Ben Schaefer, NRDC senior manager of strategic communications, and Jackson Morris, director of state energy policy, discuss how these centers can affect nearby communities and their energy bills.
Data, reports and analysis
Read various reports, analyses, blogs and background information here.
NRDC article.
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