Mandated off-grid power could derail cloud expansion

Legislators, government officials and the public are increasingly concerned about rapid data center expansion and its effects on electricity rates, grid stress, noise and water use (see Table 1 for a summary of the impact to electricity supply in four US states). These concerns have sparked vocal opposition to — and the cancellation of — some new projects and have prompted lawmakers and regulators worldwide to introduce measures to slow and manage data center growth (see the related Uptime Institute reports listed at the end of this report). Although momentum for regulation is rising, a newly introduced US Senate bill, the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers (GRID) Act, marks a troubling shift.

Table 1 Data center demand growth is large compared with peak demand in several US states