AI & Enterprise
U.S. data centre projects face backlash over power and water use as AI demand rises
Large-scale data centre projects in the United States are being delayed or cancelled as they run into power infrastructure constraints and local opposition, even as demand surges with the spread of artificial intelligence. Estimates put data centres’ 2023 electricity use at 176 terawatt-hours, about 4.4 percent of U.S. consumption, with AI potentially lifting that share to 10 to 20 percent. Disputes also centre on natural gas turbines, noise, water use and rising electricity bills.
