Studied centers’ collective use equated to about 25.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
The hyperscale data centers studied by Harvard University researchers used almost as much electricity collectively over a year as the state of Michigan. The data centers studied consumed between 68 and 99 terawatt hours annually, according to the report.
The report said Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee, which it described as cold and energy intensive, each consumed about 100 terawatt hours. The Harvard study put the data centers’ collective electricity use at 1.8% of total U.S. electricity consumption during the period the researchers reviewed. It equated that use with about 25.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide released.
The Wall Street Journal’s Business Resilience newsletter, renamed from WSJ Pro Sustainable Business, carried the report and said the report shows how the environmental impact of data centers is escalating. The newsletter said its mission remained unchanged and that it would continue covering business strategies for sustainability and resilience in the face of climate and other risks. It reported that increased attention to hyperscalers’ energy demands was heightening pressure on the technology industry to be more transparent and that lawmakers and regulators were looking to monitor the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. Government officials and members of the public were calling on hyperscalers to reveal specifics about the environmental impact of the data centers that power artificial intelligence, along with their plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Democrats who will soon be in the majority in Congress are poised to investigate data-center practices starting next year and are eyeing potential new restrictions, the newsletter reported.
The Dow Jones Risk Journal Podcast episode for the week said Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories could usher in new congressional investigations and scrutiny of U.S. sanctions policy. The episode also said “the backlash against AI datacenters becomes a political flashpoint in Texas.” The newsletter said new podcast episodes would be available Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.
The newsletter said the Trump administration wants to make it easier to build data centers, including by allowing the EPA to cut a requirement for states to get public feedback before issuing air-pollution permits for data centers.
In a September report, Pew Research Center found that Americans were growing more concerned about data centers and that 54% thought data centers mostly hurt the environment.
On the supply side of the power question, the newsletter reported a U.S. push to put nuclear reactors in ports and on cargo ships. Kofi Asante wants to float a nuclear reactor on a barge off the Port of Long Beach, and government officials are actively trying to help make it happen, the newsletter reported.
Asante’s company, Bluecore Energy, received assistance from federal and local officials in navigating the bureaucratic hurdles involved in bringing nuclear power to the port. Asante said officials had made themselves surprisingly available as the project moved forward. “They’re texts or calls away from CEOs like myself,” Asante said, speaking from his company’s warehouselike hub at the California port. From his headquarters, he could see the nonfueled reactor, which the newsletter described as just a few feet wide and looking something like a rocket.
Support for Asante’s project is part of a recently signed agreement between the Port of Long Beach and the U.S. Maritime Administration to help the port set up carbon-free offshore nuclear power. The newsletter described the agreement as one of many deals in a nationwide effort to boost nuclear power’s role in shipping and as part of a broader push to advance nuclear power generally. The maritime drive aims to use offshore nuclear power to run ports across the country and fuel a fleet of privately owned cargo vessels.
The newsletter’s wider coverage included the cost side of the utility business. A California electric utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway was asking state regulators for a rate increase that would boost the typical residential bill by $120 a month, and the newsletter called the request “stunning” even in an era of rising electricity costs. Jennifer Hiller reported that the utility asked state regulators to approve a 57% rate increase—one of the largest-ever such requests by an investor-owned U.S. utility—that would boost its base revenue by $103 million a year. The newsletter’s summary described the request as an effort to avoid wildfires.
Pacific Power, part of Berkshire-owned PacifiCorp, has a small rural customer base to share the expense of hardening the power grid in a sprawling, wildfire-prone area of Northern California. The newsletter said the filing highlights “a deepening dilemma across the American West” as utilities boost spending to try to avoid “catastrophic wildfires” while debating with regulators over how customers and shareholders should share costs for past disasters.
On electric vehicles, Cybertrucks registered in the U.S. in October, according to data from Motor Intelligence. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric-vehicle manufacturer will wind down production of the stainless-steel pickup at its gigafactory in Texas next year.
On climate policy, the newsletter assessed that the 31st Conference of Parties promises limited advances on climate action. It said major moves in cutting fossil fuel use look unlikely, while action in areas such as electrification will progress. The newsletter also states: “COP 31 must supercharge solutions.”
The Harvard figures quantify the electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions at the center of those debates: the administration’s effort to ease approvals, demands for greater corporate transparency and preparations for congressional investigations starting next year.