States nationwide are experiencing severe heat, with nearly 160 million under heat alerts and temperatures reaching 20 degrees above average. The Department of Energy declared a power emergency in the Southeast to prevent grid failures due to high electricity demand. Data centers, critical for AI processing and cloud computing, are rapidly expanding and exerting significant strain on energy resources. Currently, over half of their electricity is sourced from fossil fuels, raising concerns about increased carbon emissions and climate impact. Local communities face added pressures on water and air quality, particularly in areas like Memphis.
The growth in electricity demand from data centers is threatening the South's transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
Currently, about 56 percent of the electricity used to power US data centers comes from fossil fuels, and that number is expected to rise.
Data centers require extensive amounts of water to cool the machines and a significant amount of electricity or power to operate them, placing strains on entire communities.
In places like Memphis, Tennessee, activists have decried a data center owned by Elon Musk that depends on 35 methane gas turbines.
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