The Data Center Crisis Looming in America

May 26, 2026

Catching up: I know it’s been a little while since I’ve published a longer investigative piece here, and I wanted to explain why.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been deep in research and writing a series of academic and scientific papers examining the impacts of large-scale data center expansion on local communities — particularly the environmental, infrastructure, energy, and water consequences that are so hotly debated today.

Those papers are only part of the story.

What I ultimately want to produce here is something broader: a public-facing investigation that connects the science, the policy, the corporate influence, and the lived experiences of the communities now being transformed by this industry in real time.

But I don’t want to write this piece from behind a desk.

I want to speak directly with the people fighting these battles on the ground — the residents watching forests disappear, utility costs rise, water resources strained, and entire communities reshaped around infrastructure they were never meaningfully consulted on in the first place.

That takes time. And frankly, it takes resources.

If you want to support this kind of investigative and data-driven reporting, upgrading to a paid subscription genuinely helps make that work possible. Direct support through PayPal or CashApp also helps fund travel, interviews, records requests, and the time needed to do this work thoroughly and responsibly.

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Why I’ve been working on this project.

The United States now hosts 4,280 of the world’s 11,426 data centers — nearly 38% of the global total.

By 2030, the number of data centers worldwide is expected to triple.

That growth comes with staggering costs.

Within the next five years, experts project data centers could consume up to 219 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly 180 million American homes. That’s more housing units than currently exist in the United States.

At the same time, families across the country are already struggling with rising energy prices, increasingly extreme heat, and aging electrical grids that regularly fail during peak summer demand.

Higher energy demand means more greenhouse gas emissions, which further accelerate warming, which then drives even greater energy demand during hotter summers — creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop with no clear endpoint.

The water demands are just as alarming.

Some large data centers consume as much as 5 million gallons of water per day — equivalent to the daily water usage of a town of 50,000 people.

And much of that demand is occurring in regions already facing worsening drought, groundwater depletion, and climate-driven water instability.

We are rapidly expanding some of the most resource-intensive infrastructure on Earth while simultaneously entering an era defined by resource scarcity.

What I’m writing

My first paper is an analysis of data center impacts on local energy markets and prices.

The second is an analysis of data center impacts on local water quality and usage (with an emphasis on nitrites given preliminary findings).

The third is a public story that would weave the two academic articles together in the framing of rapidly expanding construction for data centers across the US.

I’ll be using data on energy usage and prices, as well as water quality and volume analysis, for all data centers built between January 2021 — December 2025 on the most hyper-localized scale.

Because of the myriad of questions and issues on this topic, the final product will more likely be a series of stories.

Who I’m talking to

Candidates and elected officials, many of whom are already speaking out for or against data center expansion with November election on the horizon.

The companies building the centers, energy companies in those areas, and corporate interests.

Legal experts on the forefront of the lawsuits shaping the debate.

Advocacy groups — for and against.

Community leaders, members and those impacted by data center construction.

And (of course), other scientists and technical experts.

The questions I’m asking: Scientific and Technical Analysis

My spatial analysis seeks to answer the biggest questions on economic and environmental impact, including:

To what extent does large-scale data center development influence local electricity demand, energy pricing, and grid strain at the county or utility-service-area level in the United States?

Is data center expansion associated with statistically significant increases in residential electricity prices?

Are observed changes in energy and water systems statistically distinguishable from broader regional growth trends?

Are impacts distributed evenly across customer classes, or disproportionately borne by residential ratepayers?

Do regions with rapid data center expansion experience greater grid instability, peak demand stress, or emergency load events?

Are utilities accelerating fossil fuel generation or transmission expansion in response to projected data center demand?

How do impacts differ between regulated and deregulated electricity markets?

Are renewable energy offsets sufficient to neutralize operational carbon impacts in practice?

Do data centers correlate with measurable increases in local greenhouse gas emissions despite “net-zero” claims?

Are data centers associated with measurable increases in groundwater extraction or municipal water demand?

Do communities with major data center growth experience worsening drought vulnerability or water stress indicators?

Is there evidence of localized water quality degradation associated with cooling systems, wastewater discharge, or construction runoff?

Are nitrite concentrations elevated downstream or near major data center developments?

How do impacts vary across climatic regions and water availability zones?

Are facilities disproportionately located in already water-stressed regions?

Are public disclosures regarding water usage accurate and sufficiently transparent?

The questions I’m asking: Impacts and communities

In addition to the spatial and technical analysis I’m conducting, I’ll be answering some of the most important questions on this topic:

What does the geography of data center expansion reveal about political power and environmental inequality?

Who actually pays? Residents? Taxpayers? Ratepayers? Utilities?

Is AI demand being exaggerated? Are states entering a subsidy arms race?

Are state governments sacrificing long-term climate and resource goals for short-term economic competition?

Who actually has decision-making power over these projects?

How often are local communities overruled by state governments or quasi-public authorities?

Are zoning and permitting rules being rewritten specifically for data centers?

Are residents being meaningfully consulted before approvals happen, or only informed afterward?

How much influence do companies have over local planning boards and elected officials?

What role are lobbyists and political donations playing?

Where are these facilities disproportionately being built?

Are low-income, rural, or historically marginalized communities bearing a disproportionate share of the impacts?

Are areas with weaker environmental protections being targeted intentionally?

How often are communities promised jobs and economic growth that never fully materialize?

How many permanent jobs do data centers actually create after construction ends? What kinds of jobs are they? Are those jobs local?

How much tax revenue do communities actually retain after subsidies?

Are data centers replacing other forms of development that could have created more employment per acre or megawatt?

During peak demand or grid stress, who gets prioritized: residents or hyperscale data centers?

Are utilities building new generation capacity primarily for public need or private corporate demand?

Are ordinary ratepayers subsidizing transmission and grid upgrades for tech companies?

How many new natural gas plants are being justified primarily because of projected AI/data center demand?

Are renewable energy claims masking continued fossil fuel dependence through offsets or renewable energy credits?

How many communities even know how much water local data centers consume?

Are usage figures publicly disclosed? Are companies exempt from transparency requirements?

What chemicals are being discharged?

What happens during drought declarations? Who gets cut back first during shortages?

What happens when critical digital infrastructure becomes concentrated in climate-vulnerable regions?

How vulnerable are these facilities to heat waves, drought, hurricanes, wildfires, or grid failures?

Are we creating single points of failure for cloud infrastructure?

How much water and energy dependency does AI create during emergencies?

What does it feel like to watch your community transformed in real time? What do residents believe they were promised? What changed after construction began? What surprised them most?

Do people feel powerless to stop these projects?

Can the current pace of hyperscale digital infrastructure expansion be reconciled with long-term climate resilience, resource sustainability, and equitable local governance?

And finally: In an era of climate instability and resource scarcity, who gets access to energy, water, land, and political power, and who is expected to sacrifice them?

A lot of important questions to weave into cohesive storytelling.

Your support makes it happen.

Disclosure: Starting in 2025, I have served as an Advisory Board member for the Maryland Clean Energy Center. At no point has my service on this state committee ever involved data center issues.