More Than 230 Environmental Groups Demand National Moratorium on New U.S. Datacenters Amid Rising Public Backlash

A coalition of more than 230 environmental organizations-including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and Food & Water Watch-has issued a sweeping call for a nationwide halt on new datacenter construction in the United States. The groups warn that the explosive, largely unregulated expansion of datacenters driven by artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency is worsening climate risks, straining water supplies, and fueling a surge in electricity costs for millions of Americans.

In a letter to Congress, the groups argue that new approvals should be paused until federal regulations are established to manage the sector’s fast-growing environmental footprint. “The rapid, largely unregulated rise of datacenters to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” the letter states.

The push comes as major tech companies-including Google, Meta, and OpenAI-accelerate investment in massive new datacenters to support the skyrocketing computing demands of AI. Local resistance is also rising: at least 16 datacenter projects worth a combined $64 billion have been blocked or delayed due to fears of higher electricity bills and heavy water consumption, particularly in water-scarce regions.

This growing discontent has already reshaped politics in states like Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia, where candidates campaigning on lowering power bills and curbing datacenter growth scored unexpected victories. Analysts say the issue has become a bipartisan voter concern, driven by surging utility costs. “We are entering a new era that is all about electricity prices,” said Charles Hua, founder of PowerLines, noting that around 80 million Americans now struggle to pay energy bills.

While the causes of rising electricity costs are complex-ranging from aging transmission systems to climate-driven infrastructure damage-the rapid growth of AI datacenters has become a focal point of voter anger. Electricity demand from these facilities is projected to nearly triple over the next decade, equivalent to powering 190 million homes, and could add up to 44 million tons of carbon emissions by 2030.

For many households, however, the immediate concern is affordability rather than climate impact. “Everyone is affected by this,” said Emily Wurth of Food & Water Watch. “A lot of people don’t see the benefits coming from AI and feel they’re paying for it with their energy bills and water.”

The Biden administration has supported renewable energy, but President Trump has dismissed climate concerns as a “hoax” and blocked several clean energy projects-positioning datacenter expansion as a deeper political flashpoint as electricity prices continue to rise across the country.

Data-centre moratorium demands reflect real community pushback on grid, water and land use - and that pushback directly affects hyperscaler siting, financing and disclosure. Our impact-assessment and sustainability-due-diligence teams help data-centre operators evaluate what community-linked risk means for capex and disclosure.