Overview
It’s difficult to make decisive pronouncements about the growth of data centers and their potential impacts, given the fact that new information continues to emerge on a daily basis. Nevertheless, certain trends are clear. Due in large part to the enormous energy demands of Artificial Intelligence (although the growth of cryptocurrency is also implicated), forecasters are predicting increased strain on our power grids from the data centers needed to fulfill these demands. Critics are concerned that, once built, data centers will consume huge amounts of water and electricity, will emit unacceptable amounts of pollution, will increase deleterious health impacts, will produce few jobs, and will transfer increased energy costs to the public. They will also discourage renewables in favor of methane gas and delay the necessary transition away from fossil fuels.
One of the Trump administration’s first acts on gaining office was to announce “Project Stargate,” referencing plans by the company of that name to invest a total of $500 billion in OpenAI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years. The company promises to “begin deploying $100 billion
immediately,” and their spokespeople go on to assert that “[t]his infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world. This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capacity to protect the national security of America and its allies” [Announcing the Stargate Project | OpenAI_2025].
Given the administration’s promise to “unleash” America’s energy in the service of industry dominance, we can expect data center development to benefit, at least over the next four years, from a fast-tracked approval process, decreased regulations, and increased assistance in the form of subsidies and tax breaks. Some predict that data centers could demand up to 12% of U.S. electricity consumption by 2028 [Upper Burrell Data Center | Protect PT_2025]. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, data center power demand could double by 2030, reaching 356 GW, the amount of electricity it takes to power 40 million U.S. homes [Growing Energy Demands | Earthjustice_2024]. Here in Pennsylvania, the PJM grid has announced an increased need of 100 GW or more of generating capacity over the next 15 years [Backing Into the Worst Possible Power System | ORVI_2025], and fossil fuel advocates have been quick to nominate Pennsylvania, with its “vast natural gas reserves,” as a “global leader in AI” [Fracking rebirth | Axios Pittsburgh_2025].
Karen Elias and Sandy Field, May 2025
No False Climate Solutions PA 