As heat waves sweep across the country and wreak havoc on power grids due to increased demand for electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy has extended an order allowing the use of emergency backup generation in the PJM region – an area that encompasses 13 eastern states and the District of Columbia. There is, however, a catch. Backup power is intended for “major facilities,” which includes data centers. This is meant to be a “last resort” before declaring an energy emergency alert, but by forcing these energy-hungry installations to rely solely on backup power, under specified conditions, it is hoped that this will ease the strain on the grid for residents.
This order was first issued on June 30, 2026, and then extended ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend in anticipation of increased energy use, although some power companies, like Duke, said there would be no problem meeting demands. While the order does not apply to critical services, such as first responders, air traffic control, water treatment or natural gas facilities, and related sites, it certainly calls into question the use of large-scale data centers for AI technologies at a time when resources are increasingly stretched.
In a perpetual social debate, proponents claim that AI’s resource consumption is overstated, while others claim it is not exaggerated, but this decision by the DoE clearly shows that we are reaching new lows. Dedicated power, backup or not, for largely unnecessary services when we are on the verge of a state of emergency is something worth questioning.
Data centers are resource intensive, consuming much more than just energy.
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According to reports, Amazon’s data centers used more than 2.5 billion gallons of water in a year. Although data centers are not always used exclusively for AI operations, the use of this technology has increased the demand for more powerful hardware solutions. And AI data centers are doing far more harm locally than simply raising the prices of utilities like electricity and natural gas. The World Resources Institute describes U.S. communities near data centers facing rising utility costs, more pollution, more noise and disruption, growing land shortages, unwanted economic tradeoffs, and increased pressure on marginalized communities. By the way, this noise pollution also affects local wildlife, and this is one of the unexpected ways in which data centers threaten sensitive animals in zoos.
All of these concerns are justified, as data centers pop up across the United States and around the world. We could find ourselves in a bleak future if demand continues to rise, and it likely will, alongside natural stresses that continue to grow – like heatwaves that are expected to continue for months or even years.
