Over 230 Environmental Groups Demand Nationwide Moratorium on New U.S. Datacenters Amid AI Boom

A coalition of more than 230 environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Food & Water Watch, has urged Congress to impose a national moratorium on approvals for new datacenters in the United States. In a letter to lawmakers the groups described the growth of datacenters—driven in part by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing—as "rapid" and "largely unregulated," and warned the expansion threatens local communities' economic, environmental, climate and water security.

Key Concerns: Power, Water and Emissions

The letter accuses large datacenters of contributing to rising electricity bills, consuming vast amounts of water for cooling, and increasing planet‑warming emissions. Local opposition has already delayed or blocked at least 16 datacenter projects valued at a combined $64 billion, with communities citing higher utility costs and water scarcity—particularly in drier regions—as primary concerns.

Political Fallout

Datacenter growth has become a potent political issue. Opposition to new facilities helped shape recent races in Virginia, New Jersey and Georgia, where candidates campaigned on lowering power bills and curbing datacenter expansion. The debate has crossed party lines, attracting criticism from progressives and some conservatives alike.

"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 coalition's letter says.

Costs And Projections

Advocates warn that electricity demand from datacenters could nearly triple over the next decade—an increase comparable to powering roughly 190 million additional homes. At current growth rates, datacenter expansion could add as much as 44 million tons of CO2 to the atmosphere by 2030, roughly equivalent to putting 10 million extra cars on the road.

Economic stress is immediate for many households. Charles Hua, founder and executive director of PowerLines, estimates about 80 million Americans are struggling to pay electricity and gas bills. Hua and other experts caution that causes of higher utility bills are complex—aging transmission infrastructure and weather-related damage factor in—but rising demand from new datacenters is a clear and politically salient component.

Industry, Policy And The Climate Context

Big tech companies such as Meta, Google and OpenAI plan large investments in new datacenters to meet surging AI compute needs. Environmental groups say approvals should be paused until stronger regulations and planning processes are in place to protect communities, conserve water and align new capacity with clean-energy goals.

Proponents of rapid expansion argue datacenters are critical infrastructure for innovation and economic growth. Critics counter that unchecked growth risks exacerbating energy affordability and climate problems unless it is paired with transparent siting rules, investments in grid resilience, and commitments to renewable energy and efficient cooling technologies.

What Comes Next

The coalition is asking Congress to pause new datacenter approvals and to develop regulatory standards that address energy use, water impacts and community safeguards. Environmental groups plan to keep elevating affordability concerns—arguing that voters across the political spectrum are increasingly driven by rising utility costs.