Environmental Coalition Demands National Moratorium on New US Data Centers Amid AI Boom

A powerful coalition of over 230 environmental organizations has formally called for a national moratorium on the construction of new data centers across the United States. The groups, including prominent names like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, sent a letter to Congress on Monday, December 8, 2025, urging immediate action to halt the rapid expansion of these facilities.

The core of their concern centers on the booming artificial intelligence (AI) industry, which heavily relies on these energy-intensive data centers. According to The Guardian, the coalition argues that this unchecked growth is significantly escalating electricity bills for consumers, consuming vast amounts of precious water resources, and exacerbating the ongoing climate crisis.

The environmental groups are pressing Congress to impose a halt on the proliferation of these "energy-hungry facilities" until robust new regulations can be established. Food & Water Watch, which led the initiative, stated that the current rapid and largely unregulated rise of data centers poses a threat to Americans' economic, environmental, climate, and water security.

This demand comes as data centers are projected to consume an increasingly substantial portion of the nation's electricity. Pew Research Center reported in October 2025 that data centers accounted for 4% of total U.S. electricity use in 2024, a figure expected to more than double by 2030.

The coalition's letter highlights that the harms of data center growth are "increasingly well-established and massive," as noted by Common Dreams. They emphasize that communities nationwide are already experiencing the negative impacts, from rising utility costs to strained local resources.

Emily Wurth, managing director of organizing at Food & Water Watch, told The Guardian that there is a significant "groundswell of grassroots, bipartisan opposition" to data center expansion. She explained that many Americans feel they will pay for the AI boom through higher energy bills and increased water scarcity.

The environmental groups' push directly challenges the current federal approach, as The White House issued an "AI Action Plan" and a "Data Center Infrastructure" Executive Order in July 2025. According to acoel, these initiatives aim to *facilitate* data center construction by streamlining environmental reviews and identifying new sites.

• Escalating Energy Demands and Grid Strain: The expansion of data centers, particularly those supporting AI, is placing immense pressure on the U.S. power grid. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024, a figure projected to surge by 133% to 426 TWh by 2030. This growth is equivalent to the annual electricity demand of the entire nation of Pakistan.
• Soaring Water Consumption for Cooling: Data centers require vast quantities of water for cooling their powerful servers, a critical concern especially in drier regions. Pew Research Center reported that U.S. data centers directly consumed approximately 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, with hyperscale facilities alone expected to use between 16 billion and 33 billion gallons annually by 2028. EESI further highlighted that a single 100-word AI prompt is estimated to use roughly one bottle of water.
• Impact on Consumer Electricity Bills: The increased demand from data centers is directly contributing to higher electricity bills for American households. A study from Carnegie Mellon University, cited by Pew Research Center, suggests that data centers and cryptocurrency mining could lead to an 8% increase in average U.S. electricity bills by 2030, potentially exceeding 25% in high-demand areas like northern Virginia. Utilities often pass the costs of grid upgrades to all ratepayers, as explained by Harvard Law School.
• Significant Contribution to Climate Change: Environmental groups warn that the reliance of data centers on fossil fuels exacerbates the climate crisis. The Food & Water Watch letter, as reported by Common Dreams, states that 56% of the electricity used to power data centers is sourced from fossil fuels. A November 2025 study in Nature Sustainability, cited by Yale E360, predicted that the AI industry could annually emit as much carbon dioxide as 10 million cars.
• Conflicting Federal Policies and Local Opposition: While environmental groups call for a moratorium, the Biden administration's "AI Action Plan" and "Data Center Infrastructure" Executive Order aim to accelerate data center construction. ACOEL noted in October 2025 that these orders seek to streamline permitting processes, including expediting EPA reviews. This contrasts sharply with widespread local opposition that has already led to the blocking or delaying of at least 16 data center projects worth $64 billion, according to The Guardian.
• Industry Response and Sustainability Efforts: The Data Center Coalition, representing the industry, advocates for policies supporting growth while also emphasizing efforts towards clean energy access and water reduction. Dan Diorio, Vice President of State Policy at the Data Center Coalition, told NPR that companies are working to reduce water consumption and ensure they pay the "full cost of service for electricity." However, some companies have faced scrutiny, such as xAI operating a data center without environmental permits for much of the past year, as reported by Visual and data journalism.
• Regulatory Gaps and Future Outlook: The current regulatory framework is seen as insufficient to manage the environmental impact of the rapidly expanding data center industry. Organizations like the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) have warned that data center expansion is straining grid infrastructure, increasing the risk of power outages, as reported by Visual and data journalism. Calls for new regulations include mandating transparent water use disclosures and requiring sustainable practices, as highlighted by Nixon Peabody LLP.