Fair Share calls for a moratorium on data centers

There are already more than 3,000 data centers in operation in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis. More than 1,500 more are currently in various stages of development. These data centers range across all 50 states.

Data centers are expanding with minimal oversight and often benefit from substantial tax breaks or subsidies. Meanwhile, they impose significant burdens on local communities through air, water, and noise pollution.

To realize AI’s potential in a healthy and sustainable way, we need to take the time to think deliberately about our actual needs — and to consider how to get data centers right.

Fair Share supports a moratorium to stop development until we can understand and address risks to communities.

In the meantime, we also support efforts to reduce the financial burden of data centers on communities. For instance, we urge our federal representatives to join Mike Levin and Kathy Castor in supporting the Stopping Hikes In Electricity from Large Load Demands (SHIELD) Act. This federal bill would update federal utility policy to ensure that massive electricity users, rather than everyday ratepayers, bear the costs of the grid infrastructure they require, while also incentivizing large energy consumption facilities to power their operations with zero-emission electricity.