---
title: "350.org US calls for moratorium on new data centers as AI boom drives up Americans' energy bills"
date: 2026-07-24T10:27:00Z
modified: 2026-07-24T10:27:00Z
permalink: "https://350.org/press-release/350-org-us-calls-for-moratorium-on-new-data-centers-as-ai-boom-drives-up-americans-energy-bills/"
type: press-release
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 175531532
author: kimbryan
---

## **350.org US calls for moratorium on new data centers as AI boom drives up Americans’ energy bills**

350.org is calling for a moratorium on new data center construction, and on the tax incentives that fuel it, warning that the unchecked build-out of these infrastructures is driving up electricity bills for ordinary Americans while locking the country into a new wave of fossil fuel generation.

Right now, [1,489 new data centers ](https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/)are currently being planned or are already under construction. If they’re completed, they’ll demand as much electricity as the entire country of Spain by 2028. That surge in demand is bidding up wholesale electricity prices and pushing utilities to pursue expensive new gas and nuclear projects, and in some cases even revive uneconomic coal plants, with the costs passed directly on to ratepayers. Nationally, new gas-fired generation in development has nearly tripled over the past year to a record 252 gigawatts, according to Global Energy Monitor, much of it is driven by data center demand.

Community opposition is growing fast, [seven in 10 Americans](https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx) oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local areas. While 110 data center projects were approved in 2025, around 100 others were cancelled or hit major roadblocks, and the rate of cancellations has quadrupled since 2024. Data center development is frequently negotiated in secret, often under non-disclosure agreements, leaving communities and even elected officials unable to properly assess the true energy, water, land use and economic impacts before projects move forward.

**Candice Fortin, US Campaigns Manager at 350.org, said:**

“Right now, ordinary families are paying more on their electricity bills so that data centers can get artificially cheap power, negotiated in secret with almost no accountability for the real costs. That’s backwards. A moratorium isn’t about being anti-technology, it’s about refusing to let communities and ratepayers be steamrolled into deals that benefit billionaires while everyone else pays. Data centers are driving up our bills today and locking in fossil fuels for decades to come. That’s not innovation. That’s a bad deal being forced on every ratepayer in America.”

350.org is calling for a moratorium on new data center construction and associated tax incentives, to be lifted only if they can be powered by genuinely new and additional, round-the-clock renewable energy, that they cover the costs of the infrastructure they require rather than passing it on to ratepayers; and that surrounding communities receive direct affordability benefits, such as free electricity hours or bill rebates, from the new renewable power built to serve them. 350.org is also calling on elected officials responsible for approving and enforcing data center regulations to commit to refusing campaign donations from data center interests.

[Moratorium legislation ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/25/datacenters-bernie-sanders-aoc)has already been introduced by Democrats in Congress, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as by lawmakers from both parties at state and city level, reflecting the breadth of concern the issue is generating across the political spectrum.

**ENDS**