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Stop Bad Data Centers

Exposing AI Data Center Threats and Harms

Stop Bad Data Centers (Issue #1)

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the first Bad Data Centers Project newsletter!

Here you can read into what’s happening with data center fights, access emerging resources and tools, and hear about upcoming meetups and webinars.

If you are fighting a data center project in your community you’re invited to join the network to compare notes on what’s working and to identify winning strategies.

This bi-weekly newsletter is a new project from Halt the Harm Network to provide an overview to all subscribers. For more regular updates and meetups, join the topic in Halt the Harm Network.

You can also view in your browser.

Visit stopbaddatacenters.org to learn more about the project

Here’s what’s new in the Network Resources Library, a compilation of over 165+ curated reports, tools, and articles on data centers.

What We’re Tracking

Data centers are bypassing the grid with on-site gas, accelerating fracking demand

A new Cleanview report by Michael Thomas documents a fast-growing trend: data centers are increasingly trying to get online faster by building their own power “behind the meter,” instead of waiting years for grid connection.

Here are the key takeaways we want this network to have on its radar:

  • Grid delays are pushing developers toward fossil fuel “speed-to-power” solutions. Cleanview notes that grid connection timelines can stretch to seven years, and developers are increasingly choosing natural gas to move faster.
  • Behind-the-meter power can lock in new gas demand. Instead of waiting for utility planning processes, developers are building on-site (or directly tied) gas generation, which can create long-lived infrastructure and new demand that reinforces the fracked gas supply chain.
  • The report finds natural gas dominates the equipment plans Cleanview could verify. Based on permits and equipment deals (not just press releases), Cleanview reports that roughly three-quarters of the generation equipment they identified is natural gas-powered, and that renewables were rarely planned in the near term.

Cleanview also describes the “anything that works” approach developers are taking to move quickly, including mobile gas generators, reciprocating engines, and refurbished turbines.

Why this matters for our work: This is one of the clearest ways the data center boom is becoming a fracked gas story. The impacts can show up locally (where the data center and its on-site generation are built) and upstream (where gas is extracted, processed, and moved).

Read the Cleanview report here:

Bypassing the Grid: How Data Centers Are Building Their Own Power Plants

And a reflection post in the network…

Fighting Data Centers IS Fighting Fracking

Meetup Recap

Catch up on the latest meetups to discuss effective points of intervention on data centers

HHN Fellow Tamara Saltman posted the notes from the recent working sessions on data center interventions, Gateway 2 and 3.

Gateway 2 is about power and utility interconnections, the stage where community members can challenge proposed data centers on where its power will come from, what it will cost, whether new transmission is required, and how decisions will affect local rates and reliability.

A few things you can do if a data center project is at this stage;

  • Use FOIA and open records laws to surface utility proposals and rate impacts.
  • Track transmission line siting fights alongside our own data center fights.
  • Identify whether a data center is planning to pull from the existing power network (with potential rate and reliability impacts) or go behind-the-meter.

More recently leaders met to discuss Gateway 3: Water Rights + Permitting to review how data centers source water for cooling. This includes discharge permits, wetland impacts, and more.

Here’s what we learned;

  • Leaders are still learning how to gather basic information on proposed cooling systems and water needs.
  • New resources were shared including a state preemption guide and a state-by-state comparison of data center policy approaches.
  • We swapped ways to communicate the impacts of data centers; one participant shared an analysis that shows how data centers in Virginia consume hundreds of times more water than factory farms in Oklahoma.

A new set of Gateway Working Sessions has already been scheduled and we’ll always come back around to the same topics/gateways to continue this exchange and support.

Join Tamara for the next working session by joining the topic in Halt the Harm Network. Let’s compare notes on these intervention points. View and reply to Tamara’s posts here.

Events

Join an Upcoming Webinar or Meetup

Here are the events you’ll find in the Halt the Harm Network. If you have an event to share, please reply or submit an event here.

New Connections

Meet people working on data centers across the United States in the network directory

One of the best parts of this network is how quickly people learn from each other. You can read about members in the directory, or read intros recently shared.

Last month, a new feature was released giving you the ability to find connections near you. Update your profile now to get the most from the network.

If you have a moment this week, please hop into the online network and say hi to a new member in the introductions area.

  • Connect across skill sets—lawyers, researchers, community organizers, and others—to share expertise.
  • Find out who else is organizing in your state or county.
  • Introduce yourself and leave comments to welcome newcomers.

A quick welcome or a quick followup question goes a long way to building a stronger and more resilient network. Read, say hi, and post your own introduction in the network.

Something lighter (because we all need it)

A quick comedy break, courtesy of Daniel Van Kirk and Charlie Berens. Coming to a town near you (from IG)

Coming to a town near you…

Closing Comment

This project is the only open source project on data centers. Do you have something to share?

Our small team of network fellows and contributors are honored to play a part in connecting a larger movement of leaders addressing data centers. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible so far!

If you’ve got a guide, a template, a recording, local intervention that worked, or anything else that could help other communities, we’d love to see it.

With appreciation,
Elissa and the HHN Team

P.S. If you have on-the-ground stories or evidence about data center impacts, please reply.

One of my projects is to catalog and organize materials for the network, so reach out anytime.

We’re especially looking for what you’re seeing related to water, air, noise, and any concerns about chemicals and chemical storage on-site. These local details help other communities prepare and act earlier.

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