Power demands fuel the data center backlash

Electricity demand is a central driver of opposition to data centers, despite industry claims that the facilities have become proxies for wider anxieties about affordability and corporate power. In Virginia’s Loudoun County, most facilities draw electricity from the existing grid. The average operating data center in the area has a power capacity of 54 megawatts, exceeding the power draw of Denver International Airport.

Protests have prompted state rules requiring data centers to cover the full cost of new transmission lines rather than spread those costs among other customers. Developers are also preparing for potential restrictions on grid access during peak demand. Activists worry that increasing demand could mean greater reliance on diesel backup generators and fossil fuels.

Elsewhere, many new AI facilities are planned for rural locations with little grid infrastructure, requiring onsite natural-gas turbines and diesel backup. The smallest facilities attractive for AI training are 300 megawatts, while ideal facilities approach 6,000 megawatts, roughly Chicago’s estimated draw. Supplying that electricity onsite avoids some grid pressures but exposes surrounding communities to air pollution and large industrial developments. Electricity shortages remain a major constraint on expansion, potentially steering projects toward sparsely populated regions such as the Permian Basin or overseas.