Over 200 climate groups are urging Congress to pass a moratorium on new construction and approval for data centers.
But their advocacy may be out of step with even the most progressive members of Congress.
As data centers expand to meet the artificial intelligence boom, numerous Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the climate impacts and electricity needs of the centers. But none have called for a complete moratorium on construction — indicating a potential divide between progressive advocates and those drafting legislation.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, shrugged off the calls for a moratorium.
“They should call for an above-all energy plan that allows for the construction of renewables to play into that demand for the future,” she said in response to the progressive groups’ letter.
“We’re growing, so we need more energy sources. And the President killing energy [research and development] and killing clean energy is a big mistake,” Cantwell added.
The letter, led by Food and Water Watch and sent to Congress on Monday, cited the intense electricity and water needs of AI data centers as reason to pause construction until the regulatory landscape can be ironed out.
About 230 green groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, joined the call for the moratorium. The letter generally encompassed the most progressive of the green groups, without more center-left organizations.
“What we have found is that groups that are directly connected to communities on the ground that are fighting these data centers were much more willing to join together for a national moratorium as opposed to trying to stick to fighting the state, local fights individually,” said Mitch Jones, Food and Water Watch’s managing director of policy and litigation.
Jones said that the coalition has seen some interest from members of Congress in a national data center moratorium — but he declined to name specific members.
There are congressional offices interested in taking a more “regulatory approach” by adding data centers to existing federal environmental laws, Jones said.
“There is a mix of reaction on the Hill, but there is also increasing interest from members to address this issue, including going so far as supporting a national moratorium,” he said.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce Committee who has long championed progressive climate policies, applauded the advocacy around data centers and their climate impacts — but stopped short of endorsing a construction moratorium.
“I’m going to continue to work with environmental groups on this looming crisis,” Markey said in an interview. “We need to have a reconciliation between the AI industry and the need for renewable energies to power that.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) similarly said he would not yet endorse a moratorium.
“I think my colleagues are still working their way through it. This is obviously a big proposal, and I’ve told you how I see it — I think that there has been significant abuse of taxpayer money as it relates to data centers,” Wyden said.
Among Democrats, Wyden said, there is fairly widespread worry about some of the Trump administration’s policies to speed up construction and grid connection.
“The concern about data center growth isn’t just limited to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party or to the aggressive wing of the environmental movement,” Jones said. “I believe that we will find support for this moratorium will grow from that aggressive, progressive wing, not only throughout the Democratic Party, but also across the whole political spectrum.”
There are further lines that dictate where lawmakers stand on data centers than just the political spectrum, Jones added. Geography plays a role, with members of Congress from communities with major data center growth often expressing the most worry about climate and grid impacts.
For example, Jones said, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has slammed the unchecked growth of data centers in her state. Tlaib’s office did not respond to request for comment on whether she supports a national moratorium.
Lobbying, too, may well draw a dividing line both across Congress and within the Democratic Party. AI companies have ramped up lobbying significantly in the past year.
“Let’s be honest, we’re talking about politics — there’s always going to be money behind this as well,” Jones said.
Although a moratorium, even if it garners more congressional support, is highly unlikely to become law under Trump, Jones said that the advocacy could open new dialogue on Capitol Hill.
“We’re hoping to broaden that conversation in Congress to make sure that the communities that are really being affected by the data centers are being heard just as much as the billionaires who are benefiting from them,” Jones said.
In the meantime, Democrats have introduced more narrowly focused legislation to address the rise of data centers.
On Tuesday, Reps. Greg Landsman of Ohio and Don Beyer of Virginia introduced the “Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act,” which would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to meet and issue recommendations on how to protect residential rates from increasing in areas with data centers.
“The rapid growth of data center construction to meet power demands from the proliferation of AI platforms is driving electricity prices up sharply in Virginia and across the country,” Beyer said in a statement. “Our bill would respond to this growing problem to generate policy changes that protect consumers and lower prices for the American people.”
This story also appears in Energywire.
