Unwelcome neighbors? Data centers concerns grow over energy use, utility costs
Data centers, large facilities that house IT infrastructure, are increasingly seen as unwanted neighbors in U.S. communities due to high electricity, water use, noise, and limited local jobs. Polls show a majority of Americans view data centers negatively for the environment, rising home energy costs, and quality of life, with 70% opposing local construction. Catholic Climate Covenant, a coalition of 20 Catholic partners, highlights concerns about rising electricity prices, grid reliability, and the disproportionate siting of large centers in low‑income areas. The organization stresses that local communities often receive little input before data centers are built, citing examples like Meta’s Louisiana site that was developed with minimal transparency.
about 1 month ago
Data centers are expanding rapidly to support artificial intelligence, but communities are increasingly concerned about their high electricity and water consumption, potential effects on utility bills and grid reliability, industrial noise, limited permanent employment, and uneven public participation in siting decisions. Catholic environmental advocates, scientists, and industry representatives differ over how costs and regulations should be handled, while proposals focus on cleaner energy, separate rate structures, and requiring data centers to pay a fair share of infrastructure expenses.
Data centers house the computing infrastructure needed to run digital applications, store information, and deliver online services. Their rapid expansion has drawn criticism because facilities can consume massive amounts of electricity and water.
A March Pew Research Center poll found that Americans viewed data centers as “mostly bad” for the environment, home energy costs, and nearby quality of life at rates of 39%, 38%, and 30%, respectively. A May Gallup poll reported that seven in 10 Americans opposed building a data center in their area.
Critics also cite industrial noise, limited permanent job creation, and the possibility that lower-income communities bear a disproportionate share of the effects.
Dan Misleh, founder of the Catholic Climate Covenant, said data centers are contributing to rising electricity prices and could strain local grids. He said some facilities consume enough power to equal the needs of up to 1 million homes, potentially limiting electricity availability during periods of peak summer or winter demand.
Misleh also raised concerns about community participation, particularly in low-income areas. He cited a Meta project in Louisiana that he said began construction without meaningful local input.
Pope Leo XIV addressed the environmental costs of artificial intelligence and data centers in his May encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. He wrote that current AI systems require large amounts of energy and water, increase carbon dioxide emissions, and place significant demands on natural resources, while calling for more sustainable technologies.
The data-center construction boom has been accelerated by demand for AI services and state tax incentives. The article reports that nearly 4,000 centers are operating in the United States, with approximately 3,000 more projected.
Virginia leads the states, with 663 operational data centers and 595 additional facilities under construction or planned, according to the American Edge Project, a technology-backed advocacy organization.
The American Edge Project acknowledged that opposition was increasing, citing organizers’ estimate that more than 120 protests would occur across 37 states. It nevertheless argued that data centers support local economies, that the United States must remain competitive with China in AI, and that federal rather than state governments should establish regulations.
Maria Fernanda Chavez of the Union of Concerned Scientists said concern about data centers has attracted support across political parties. She said policymakers were considering ways to prevent ordinary utility customers from being disadvantaged by large technology companies.
Suggested measures include creating separate electricity tariffs for residential and data-center customers, requiring facilities to generate their own power, and prioritizing clean energy over fossil fuels. Chavez also said pollution from fossil-fuel-powered data centers creates health and climate costs that can affect communities financially.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said in a January 2026 report that the United States could meet data-center electricity demand primarily through clean energy while reducing fossil-fuel use. It also estimated that data centers should be required to pay a fair share of nearly $1 trillion in electricity-related costs expected over the next 25 years.
A United Nations University report released in June estimated that global data centers consumed 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity in the previous year—more than all but 10 countries. Their electricity use generated approximately 208 million tons of carbon dioxide and required about 1.2 trillion gallons of water.
The article links these environmental impacts to the growing use of AI, while noting that increased computing demand also supports many familiar technologies, including electronic document systems and voice-recognition tools.
President Donald Trump promoted the White House’s voluntary “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” saying it would protect consumers from automatic utility-rate increases while allowing communities to benefit financially from data-center development.
The pledge states that private companies, rather than American households and businesses, should bear the costs associated with rising demand. Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, xAI, Amazon, and 23 Republican governors had signed it.
The Sierra Club criticized the pledge as insufficient. Chavez said policy development was not keeping pace with technology expansion and called for safeguards addressing effects on electricity grids and communities.
The American Edge Project has warned that state-level restrictions could increase regulatory costs, create legal risks, slow innovation, and weaken U.S. competitiveness.
Ian Moise of the Catholic Energies Service Platform said data centers are not entirely new, because rising computing needs have developed alongside digital services for years. The current AI boom represents an intensification of a longer trend.
Moise characterized the siting dispute as a form of environmental justice and “not in my backyard” conflict. He said wealthier communities may resist facilities because of property-value concerns, while poorer communities may accept them for additional income despite facing the resulting environmental and quality-of-life effects.
Catholic doctrine demands responsible stewardship of community resources
Catholic doctrine teaches that community resources must be managed as a trust for the common good, not treated as the private possession of a few.
God is the ultimate owner of creation. Human beings are entrusted with its cultivation and protection. Stewardship therefore includes both using resources responsibly and preserving them for others and for future generations.
The Church’s principle of the universal destination of goods means that created goods are intended to serve the needs of all humanity. Private property is legitimate, but it carries a social obligation:
“The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others.”
Thus, ownership—whether personal, institutional, corporate, or governmental—does not justify waste, exploitation, corruption, or exclusion.
Catholic teaching demands that resources be:
The Catechism states that productive goods—such as land, factories, skills, and other resources—should be employed in ways that benefit the greatest number. Goods intended for use and consumption should be used moderately, with special consideration for guests, the sick, and the poor.
Stewardship is not merely the government’s task. Individuals, families, businesses, parishes, schools, civic institutions, and governments all have responsibilities. Solidarity means recognizing that the welfare of one person or community is connected to the welfare of others; it cannot be delegated entirely to the State.
At the same time, public authority may regulate the exercise of private ownership when necessary to protect the common good. This is not an abolition of private property, but a reminder that economic freedom has moral limits.
Care for community resources also includes care for the environment. Pollution, depletion of water, destruction of biodiversity, and climate-related harms often burden the poor most severely. Consequently, ecological responsibility is inseparable from concern for human dignity and social justice.
Catholic stewardship rejects both reckless exploitation and the view that nature is more valuable than human beings. It seeks integral human development: the protection of creation together with the promotion of human life, dignity, and the common good.
The statement is therefore correct: Catholic doctrine demands responsible stewardship of community resources because all goods ultimately come from God and are ordered toward the flourishing of the whole human family. Those entrusted with resources must use them justly, transparently, moderately, and sustainably, with particular concern for the poor and for generations yet unborn.