By Joe Testa • chapter.chair@newjersey.sierraclub.org
When you have a column to write on deadline, on occasion writer’s block sets in and the columnist drifts toward a state of panic. These days, there is an easy out: “Claude, write a 750-word article for me on the impacts of AI data center energy consumption in New Jersey.” Thirty seconds later, presto! We would have a very nice article. But at what price?
According to a rough estimate provided by Google (ironically, generated by AI—nobody’s perfect), the amount of electricity used by a typical AI model for this little task, up to 5 watt-hours, is roughly the same as the amount needed to power a standard LED light bulb for 10 minutes.
This is of course a small example, but AI from providers such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini is increasingly popular for online searches, writing assignments, and professional work tasks (including mine as a software engineer), and those light-bulb-level energy expenditures add up. Market research estimates vary, but by 2030—just four years from now—data center energy consumption could amount to as much as 20% of all US energy consumption, up from 4% in 2023. PJM Interconnection, the regional energy pool for 13 states including New Jersey, projects a general usage increase of 32 gigawatts (GW) by 2030—with 30 GW of that coming from increases in data center electricity consumption!
New data centers to process AI tasks are proliferating in New Jersey and across the country, resulting in increased demand on our electric supply, transmission infrastructure, and in many cases water usage to cool these facilities. As reported recently in South Jersey Climate News, we have more than 80 data centers in New Jersey, many clustered along the NJ Turnpike corridor and in the New York City metropolitan area. Yet more are planned, including a proposed enormous 300 MW project in Vineland. (It could be worse: Some of the largest data centers in the country, as large as 1.2 GW, use as much electricity as Newark, and even larger projects are on the drawing board!)
Soaring Energy Costs
Add this new data-driven demand to our increasing summertime use of air conditioning as we deal with the warming trend of climate change, and we have a recipe for spiraling electricity costs in the near future. These costs will be borne by the people of New Jersey who will be essentially subsidizing the data center investors who will profit from the data center boom. According to Bloomberg, electricity in areas located near significant data center activity now costs as much as 267% more for a single month than it did five years ago, compared with an average 27% increase across the country during that same period. To meet this demand, we will backslide on our clean energy generation goals; the Trump Administration cites increasing energy needs to justify rolling back restrictions on dirty coal power plants.
Five years ago, who would have thought that an environmental organization would have to deal with data center expansion triggered by AI? The Sierra Club has pivoted, both on the national level and in New Jersey, to tackle some of the specific environmental and economic threats posed by the rapid expansion of data center power demand and land use:
• The huge energy needs of data centers put a strain on power transmission infrastructure, and the burden of paying for this falls on all ratepayers, not just data center developers.
• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) between data center developers and municipalities often obscure details such as estimated water usage and the resulting impact on local water supplies.
• Data centers are increasingly being sited on our disappearing farmland and open space.
The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club is taking a leading role in taking on this issue right here where we live:
• Our Data Center and Warehouse Committee keeps a watch on the sprawling expansion of these projects.
• Our Legislative Committee monitors legislation in Trenton that deals with regulation of data center siting and energy generation policy.
• We hold biweekly cross-team planning sessions to formulate strategies for monitoring and combating irresponsible expansion projects.
• Our staff develops and presents informational webinars open to all Sierra Club members.
• We do outreach and share information with communities affected by these expansion projects.
Large Load Tariffs
One regulatory proposal we support would limit irresponsible infrastructure buildout through assessing “large load tariffs,” which would require big electricity users—such as data center developers—to pay upfront for the grid upgrades they need, rather than shifting those costs onto everyone else. This would weed out speculative projects by real estate developers that have no real data center customers lined up but are essentially adding to the energy price inflation and the pressure to build potentially wasteful electricity infrastructure.
Is data center sprawl an issue that you are interested in digging into? A great deal of the work by our Chapter, including membership on the committees listed above, is done by volunteer members. We’d love to hear from you if you want to get involved! Send us an email at info@newjersey.sierraclub.org and someone will contact you to discuss where you can fit in.