43% say data centers are raising energy bills, Stanford prof warns

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 43% of Americans believe data centre energy use has driven up their utility bills, a statistic underscoring why communities across the country are organising to block new AI infrastructure projects.

Stanford University professor Anjney Midha, who teaches a viral course on AI infrastructure, said the resistance stems not from opposition to progress but from a fundamental lack of transparency about data centres' impacts and purpose.

Midha told Alex Heath's Access podcast that local communities don't oppose data centres blindly; they oppose the mystery surrounding them. Rising utility costs, environmental degradation, increased noise pollution, and declining quality of life are legitimate concerns that deserve straightforward answers.

"These are human beings; communities around America are not happy," Midha said. When companies fail to explain how data centres serve public benefit or mitigate negative effects, communities assume the worst and organise against them.

Senators Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York suggested imposing a federal moratorium on the building of more data centres while similar bills were being considered at state levels, including in Maine.

While criticising both approaches, one pushing for rapid expansion without any responsibility and the other advocating for no development of AI infrastructure – Midha said, "Let's scale infrastructure effectively and efficiently while making sure that we hear what concerns people have."

The concept of data centres could involve putting in place a nutritional label-like standard for the centres, outlining their energy usage, impacts on the environment and local communities, etc.

"That is the level at which communities will want clarity before they provide strong enough, vocal enough support for data centres," he said.