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PennEnvironment Study Details Costs To Consumers, Power Demands, Environmental Risks Of The Surging Growth Of Massive Data Centers

On January 24, the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center and Frontier Group released a new report-- Big Data Centers, Big Problems: The Surging Environmental And Consumer Costs of AI, Cryptocurrency And Big Data.

Rising electricity demand from U.S. data centers risks deepening America’s reliance on fossil fuels and can put consumers and communities at risk, according to the report.

“People across the country are trying to square the benefits that technology can bring with the real and growing impacts on the environment and consumers,” said Ellie Kerns, Climate and Clean Energy Advocate with the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center. “We hope this report conveys the scale and urgency of the challenge and provides ideas that communities and Pennsylvania’s elected officials can use to minimize the impact.”

The report shows that between 2021-2024, the number of data centers in the U.S. roughly doubled from 2,667 to 5,381, and that number is expected to keep growing.

Electricity demand to power these centers is projected to increase as well.

The 71 data centers in Pennsylvania are already responsible for about 3.2% of the state’s energy use.

In nearby Virginia, data centers consume 25% of the state’s entire energy use.

The report identifies at least 17 dirty fossil-fuel power plants nationwide that have delayed their anticipated closure or are at risk of being kept open longer than planned to meet increasing electricity demand. In many cases, much of that demand is for data centers.

Additionally, at least 10,808 MW (enough electricity to power 200,000 Pennsylvania homes) of new fossil-fuel powered electricity generation is being planned to meet increasing electricity demand nationwide.

The report also highlights proposals to resurrect expensive and dangerous nuclear power plants solely to serve data centers.

In Pennsylvania, there are plans to open a massive 3 GW data center complex – one of the largest data centers ever built – in Upper Burrell [Westmoreland County], powered by new on-site gas generation and additional cryptocurrency mining data centers have popped up near fracking wells.

“New technology can be part of a brighter future, but not if it keeps us tied to the dirty energy sources of the past,” said Quentin Good, policy analyst with Frontier Group, one of the paper’s authors. “The impact on consumers and the environment from data center expansion isn’t theoretical; it’s real and it’s happening right now.”

Data centers can also increase utility prices for consumers, and the cost of incorporating them onto the electric grid can be passed onto other ratepayers.

“Utility customers should not have to pay the price when a big data center sets up shop in their town,” said Abe Scarr, energy and utilities program director for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “Maximizing energy efficiency, generating clean power on-site, and ensuring that data centers pay the full cost of necessary grid upgrades can help reduce the impact on consumers.”

Given the growing impact of data centers, the authors recommend that policy makers:

-- Ensure that virtually all energy use at data centers is powered with renewable energy, and take full advantage of opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of data centers and reduce their impact on the grid.

-- Improve transparency regarding energy and water use by data centers.

-- Consider the societal value provided by AI, cryptocurrency and other forms of energy-intensive computing to ensure that the value they provide exceeds the costs they impose on the environment, consumers and communities.

Click Here to read the report.

(Photos: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Dauphin County to be restarted to supply power to Microsoft data centers; 1,400 acre site of proposed data center project in Westmoreland County to be powered by 3 GW of natural gas-fired generation.)

Resource Links:

-- Constellation Energy Announces Restart Of Undamaged Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Provide Power For Microsoft Data Centers

-- TECfusions Unveils Massive 1,400-Acre Data Center Project With 3 Gigawatts Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection: Extreme Cold Produces PJM Record For Winter Electricity Demand; Maximum Generation Alert Remains In Effect Into Thursday [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Threatens To Pull Pennsylvania Out Of PJM If It Does Not Protect Consumers Against Soaring Power Prices [PaEN]

-- 30 Stakeholder Comments Received By PUC On Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania; Increasing Natural Gas Power Plant Reliability To 90-95% Would Mean No Imminent Capacity Problem [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week- Data Centers:

-- The Hill: President Says He Will Use Energy Emergency Declaration To Approve Power Plants For AI Data Centers

-- Utility Dive: President Plans To Use Emergency Powers To Fast-Track Generation Co-Located With Data Centers [Which He Said Was ‘Largely’ His Idea]

-- AP: President Pumps Coal As Answer To AI Data Center Needs, But Any Boost Could Be Short-Lived

-- Bloomberg: Renewables Leader Next Era Expanding To Gas, Nuclear For AI Boom

-- AP: Big Tech Wants To Plug Data Centers Right Into Power Plants, Utilities Say It’s Not Fair [Talen/Amazon Data Center Deal]