A Climate Week panel on artificial intelligence and data centers was interrupted repeatedly by protesters with Extinction Rebellion NYC, who stood up and shouted about the harms of AI while security removed them. The disruptions continued for about 10 minutes as speakers tried to resume their discussion. Cully Cavness, cofounder and president of data center infrastructure company Crusoe, told the moderator he was still thinking about the interruptions after the last protester was escorted out.
The protest reflected a difficult stretch for data center defenders, with public opinion at low levels and moratoriums appearing in both red and blue states, according to the panel's context. Cavness said he believed most protesters likely did not live near a data center and did not understand the tax-base benefits such facilities can bring. Varun Sivaram of Emerald AI said data centers could become good citizens that work with the grid to lower bills and bring more clean energy online, and he warned that depriving communities of data centers could remove good actors who could help transform the grid.
Data centers were a prominent topic at Climate Week, an event that draws people focused on climate. Polls show climate ranks among the last data center-related environmental concerns for many voters, behind water, energy use and its effect on bills, and local air and noise pollution. VoLo Earth cofounder and managing partner told the Wall Street Journal that Climate Week could essentially be AI and data center week, and that climate investors, including himself, are focused on the energy system.
William Lawrence, a founder of the Sunrise Movement who is in a tight race for Michigan's 7th congressional district, has made data center and AI opposition central to his campaign, helping him win a competitive Democratic primary. He said at least three hyperscalers are building projects in his district, and he released a platform to stop AI development that says data centers threaten air, water and quality of life but does not mention climate change. Lawrence said Michiganders raise climate concerns about data centers, though water and energy bills rank higher, and he described a broad environmental consciousness driving the movement that may include climate without being expressed only through emissions worries.
BloombergNEF analysts projected a large increase in fossil fuel power demand over coming years driven mainly by data centers, which they said will likely exceed 5 percent of global electricity demand by 2035 and triple their current needs. Most of that demand will be met by new and existing natural gas plants and could raise the power sector's emissions by 6 percent in less than 10 years, the analysis found. A separate BNEF analysis of 99 proposed on-site gas power plants found they could increase US power sector emissions by 20 to 33 percent if all are built, posing a major climate threat, while coal plant retirements decline and more coal plants stay online due to new demand.
A startup is aiming to use supercritical CO2 technology to make data center gas turbines more efficient, a concept studied for decades but not yet successfully commercialized. Its founders hope data center operators hungry for power will bet on the technology and help bring down costs, with eventual plans to expand it to clean energy sources such as nuclear.
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