Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced legislation calling for a federal moratorium on new data center construction, bringing the artificial intelligence boom into direct collision with climate commitments as energy consumption threatens to overwhelm grid capacity.
The Data Center Energy Accountability Act, unveiled this week, would pause approvals for new hyperscale data centers until Congress establishes comprehensive energy efficiency standards and renewable energy requirements. The bill comes as data centers already consume roughly 4 percent of U.S. electricity — a figure projected to double by 2030 if AI expansion continues unabated.
"Big Tech's AI arms race is creating an energy crisis that undermines everything we're trying to achieve on climate," Senator Sanders said at a press conference. "We cannot allow trillion-dollar corporations to burn through renewable energy supplies while ordinary Americans face higher utility bills and climate goals slip further out of reach."
The AI infrastructure buildout has triggered alarm among grid operators and climate advocates. A single large language model training run can consume as much electricity as hundreds of American homes use in a year. Facilities operated by companies including Microsoft, Google, and Meta each draw power equivalent to medium-sized cities — often prioritizing data centers over residential and small business customers when capacity is constrained.
Water consumption compounds the crisis. Data centers use massive quantities for cooling systems, with some facilities consuming millions of gallons daily even in drought-stressed regions. Recent reporting revealed that AI model training in Iowa and Arizona has strained municipal water supplies, forcing difficult choices between tech industry growth and agricultural or residential needs.
Several Mountain West counties have already imposed local moratoriums after experiencing infrastructure strain. Washoe County, Nevada, home to , halted new data center permits in late 2025 after utilities warned that planned facilities would exceed grid capacity. , followed suit after water utility analyses showed AI facilities would deplete aquifer recharge rates.
