An Industry Moving Fast
The explosive growth in artificial intelligence is one of the main factors driving demand for energy-intensive data centers. As of April 2026, there are over 1,500 new data centers in various stages of development in the US. The environmental impacts of data centers are extensive and, in some cases, not fully understood.
A Brief Background on Data Centers
Data centers are buildings used to store computers and hardware systems to process digital information. Data centers can be used to power anything from personal applications (like Netflix or Spotify) to complex AI systems. Data centers aren’t a new concept – some of the earliest examples can be traced back to the 1940’s. However, modern data centers look far different than their predecessors.
Early data centers could be compared to the size of a single family home. Today, data centers often look like an expansive warehouse complex. Depending on the type of data center, the size of these facilities can vary widely.
While data centers aren’t new, the number and scale of new projects popping up across the country is unprecedented. The recently announced 40,000 acre data center project in Box Elder County would be twice the size of Manhattan and larger than Bryce Canyon National Park.
Environmental Impacts
Data centers cause extensive impacts to our air, water, and climate. Click the dropdowns below to learn more.
Data centers need energy to power their core functions of computing, processing, and storing data. Some projections show that data centers alone could account for up to 21% of overall global energy demand by 2030. A “hyperscale” AI data center can consume as much energy as 80,000 US households. The strain of these massive energy demands could increase energy prices for everyday customers. In addition, without regulation of energy sources, companies will likely continue to use fossil fuels, natural gas, and diesel generators to power data centers. Some companies claim they will use nuclear reactors–but those technologies are not available yet and would likely lead to onsite storage of highly radioactive spent fuel.
The energy demand driven by data centers is leading utilities to extend the life of coal plants and build new gas-fired power plants. Some researchers estimate that, given the current rate of AI growth, AI computing could release up to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2030 (or the equivalent of 10 million more cars on the road). In Utah, data center development is projected to significantly increase both carbon dioxide and NOx emissions.
Data centers require water to cool down servers and keep equipment from overheating. Typically, larger data centers require more water. Some data centers currently use as much as 500,000 gallons of water per day, but new AI data centers could use up to millions of gallons of water per day. As Utah struggles under an extreme drought emergency to meet its water needs and get water to a drying Great Salt Lake, this additional water demand is troubling.
Although data centers use cooling systems to regulate the temperature of servers and equipment, those cooling systems and equipment still produce excess heat which has the potential to create a warming effect in nearby areas. In the case of the proposed 40,000 acre Box Elder County data center in Utah, estimates show that local temperatures could increase up to five degrees fahrenheit during the day and up to 28 degrees fahrenheit at night. This could be compounded by the greenhouse gas emissions they produce, which could further drive changes to our climate.
Solutions
In addition to environmental safeguards, there are other issues that need to be addressed amid the data center boom.
Nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) between companies, local governments, and utilities are common with new data center projects. Touted as a way to protect trade secrets, NDAs can prevent local governments and utility companies from discussing project details with the public. Transparency, especially around energy and water use, is absolutely necessary for meaningful public participation.
Thirty-eight states, including Utah, offer some form of sales tax breaks for data centers. Proponents argue that these incentives drive local economic growth and increase local tax revenue by attracting multi-billion dollar projects. However, as data center projects become more costly for communities in the form of environmental impacts and increasing energy prices, some states like Ohio have issued a pause on new tax breaks.
When a data center comes in, companies often make promises about jobs, improved infrastructure, tax revenue, and sustainability to local leaders and communities, but these need to be negotiated and substantiated through documents called Community Benefit Agreements (CBA). CBAs should involve robust community input and could include provisions restricting the types and amount of energy data centers use, as well guardrails for land and water use, noise and light pollution, targets for local workforce hiring and development, direct payments to support community infrastructure, and enforcement mechanisms.
Take Action
As data centers pop up across the country at an unprecedented rate, the Trump administration is looking to accelerate construction and the Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed a plan to allow certain data center construction to begin before obtaining required air quality permits.
Take action and ask the state of Utah to pause any new data center approval until it can create an enforceable framework that prioritizes community and environmental protections over corporate interests and expansive development. We need to see recent promises made by our Governor and Legislature backed up with concrete action and strong regulations.
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