Overview
- Peer‑reviewed modeling in Environmental Research Letters projects national wholesale electricity costs rising 6% to 29% by 2030, with regional spikes up to 57%, and power‑sector CO2 emissions up as much as 28%.
- Public resistance is broad and bipartisan, with Gallup finding 71% oppose an AI data center near them and a University of Houston survey showing 63% of locals would not want one within a mile.
- Organized pushback is growing, as more than 60 New Jersey groups urged Gov. Mikie Sherrill to pause facilities using 20 megawatts or more and Prince George’s County, Md., enacted a countywide halt.
- A growing strain on grids is hitting households, with Forbes reporting NV Energy told Liberty Utilities it will cut power to 49,000 Lake Tahoe customers by 75% starting in 2027 to supply an AI data center.
- Hyperscalers are still spending heavily, with Moody’s lifting 2026 capex forecasts to $785 billion and nearly $1 trillion for 2027, even as Data Center Watch counted at least 48 projects worth $156 billion stalled or canceled in 2025 and the industry’s trade group says the buildout has not raised consumer rates.