Local Strategies for Data Center Reform

As AI becomes more ubiquitous, proposals for data centers are popping up across the country. Data centers are physical sites that house the processing equipment powering AI models, and as the planned construction of these facilities grows, so do local concerns around noise, water use, and energy demand. Data centers consume large amounts of energy, and many states are proposing to match that energy demand with fossil fuels, jeopardizing climate goals and increasing energy bills for everyone. (For more information about the energy demand from data centers, read this blog by Clean Energy Group’s Abbe Ramanan).  

In this Clean Energy Group webinar, panelists working in Louisiana, Virginia, and Pennsylvania will discuss how their organizations are pushing for guardrails to protect local communities from some of the harms that data center proposals can bring.  

Speakers:  

• KD Minor, Community Solutions Manager, Alliance for Affordable Energy
• Julie Bolthouse, Director of Land Use, Piedmont Environmental Council 
• Matthew Shorraw, Policy and Program Coordinator, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania  
• Eva Morgan, Project Manager, Clean Energy Group (Moderator)