Discussion
Get all the details from the author, Ketan Joshi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOlt-PYcnLk
Thevideo is not so much a TL;DR as to whet your appetite to read the report:
https://mastodon.social/@ketanjoshi.co@ketanjoshi.co/116083027439799872
Pushback from the EU:
"EU lawmakers want the European Commission to scrap a secrecy clause critics say lets Big Tech hide the energy cost of Europe’s AI boom."
“The US now devotes 6 percent of its total electricity to data centers.”
That could be a significant milestone, as the report warns that "significant community and political pushback starts to occur in nations once their data center footprints have reached the 5 percent consumption level of national grids."
The problems are only likely to get worse though, as tech companies show no signs of slowing down. Annual global data center spending is approaching $1 trillion."
"The “data-centre boom” is driving a surge in gas investment in the US, pushing its fossil-power spending ahead of China.
High demand for electricity to power these data centres has led to companies rushing to build new gas-fired power plants across the country.
This trend, combined with “soaring” gas-turbine prices, drove a threefold increase in US gas‑power investment in 2025 – and the IEA expects this to continue throughout 2026."
https://www.carbonbrief.org/ai-boom-means-us-is-now-investing-more-in-fossil-fuel-power-than-china/
"Investment in grid upgrades, power equipment and electricity generation to support the buildout of data-centre infrastructure around the world hit $105bn in 2025.
This is more than the total invested in the energy sector across the whole of Africa.
The IEA notes that strong demand for gas-power plants for data centres in the US – and, to a lesser extent, the Middle East – is “limiting the availability of turbines for near-term deployment elsewhere in the world”."
https://www.carbonbrief.org/ai-boom-means-us-is-now-investing-more-in-fossil-fuel-power-than-china/
"By 2030, AI's water use will match the needs of 1.3 billion people while its power use triples that of 650 million.
The report finds that AI's environmental cost is being systematically mismeasured. Most existing assessments focus on the carbon emissions. Yet every kilowatt-hour of electricity used to train or run an AI system also carries a water footprint, from cooling and power generation, and a land footprint, from energy infrastructure and supply chains."
https://unu.edu/inweh/news/environmental-cost-of-AIs-Enrgy-use-carbon-water-and-land-footprints
"At least 7 in 10 Americans would now oppose a data center being built near their home, according to a new Heatmap Pro poll, a record low that reveals a staggering shift in public opinion against the facilities powering the artificial intelligence boom.
When Heatmap first asked Americans how they would feel about a nearby data center project last September, Americans were evenly split: 43% said they would support it, 42% were opposed, and 15% said they weren’t sure."
https://heatmap.news/politics/americans-oppose-data-centers-poll
"New York moved closer toward becoming the first US state to enact a moratorium on large datacenters this week. On Thursday, the state legislature approved a one-year ban on the facilities powering the AI boom.
The measure now heads to Kathy Hochul, the governor, who will decide whether to sign it into law."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/06/new-york-datacenter-temporary-ban
In first, California city overwhelmingly votes to permanently ban datacenters
"While many US city councils have passed moratoriums, Monterey Park is first where residents have voted on a ban."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/03/california-monterey-park-datacenters-ban
You don't hear much about this, but there are several proposals to keep data centers from raising electricity costs on households:
GRID Act - Sens. Hawley, R-Mo, and Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Power for the People” Act -- Sen. Van Hollen, D-Md.
SHIELD Act -- Reps. Levin, D-Calif., and Castor, D-Fla.
PRICE Act -- then-Rep. Menendez, D-N.J., introduced the “PRICE Act.”
“Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs ” Act.-- Rep. Landsman, D-Ohio
Write to your reps, at all levels of government: many decisions on data centers are made locally. Ask for:
1. BYOG - Data centers to be built must bring their own power generation.
2. That power must be clean.
3. A transparent accounting of their future water use.
That way, you protect your drinking water. And if/when the data centers shut down, your community keeps the huge amount of clean power generation capacity. Rather than a gas plant that also needs a lot of water.
BEFORE #DataCenters are proposed:
"Because of the significant impact that a data center can have on its surroundings, communities benefit from planning ahead before any proposal has even been made in their area."
AFTER one is proposed near you:
"Penn State Extension published a guide to common questions about data centers that may facilitate discussions with community officials and data center developers."
"Observers caution that while the centers are propelling wind, solar, and other clean energy companies, datacenters remain a climate nightmare.
Utilities across the US are racing to build new fossil-fuel plants to accommodate the facilities, or are keeping ageing gas and coal plants online to meet the staggering demands of datacenters. In Michigan and other states, the centers have effectively derailed the grids’ planned transitions to renewable energy."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/19/datacenters-us-clean-energy-growth-climate
Caveat investor:
"A huge portion, 79%, of all data centers globally are exposed to acute risk from severe, climate-induced weather events.
Over half are in markets exposed to chronic climate stress.
Data centers are typically expected to be in operation for 20 to 30 years, and investors may not be weighing long-term conditions affected by climate."
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/18/data-center-climate-change-study.html
"Europe must prioritize artificial intelligence over its immediate climate ambitions or risk surrendering its tech sovereignty to China.
That's the view of the president of the European Data Centre Association, which lobbies the EU on behalf of data center companies.
If grid upgrades and advanced nuclear projects are delayed, gas could emerge as the only practical bridging fuel, he argued."
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-choose-ai-climate-goals-data-center-chief-warns/
@ketan poimts out everything that's wrong with the arguments that European leaders are accepting at face value.
youtu.be/FjfTm5NoOUY
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