Curated RSS Brief
All the latest updates on AI data centers
AI Updated May 8, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC All the latest updates on AI data centers by Verge Staff and Justine Calma Link Share RSS Gift Massive new data centers are the physical foundation for tech companies’ hopes and dreams for AI. But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment. From audacious plans to launch data centers into space to the latest legal battles over pollution, The Verge has the biggest news and reporting surrounding data centers. May 6 Jay Peters 43 percent of Americans blame data centers as a major reason for rising power bills. That’s according to a new Pew Research Center survey . Similar numbers of both Republicans and Democrats also cite data centers, which are quickly becoming a bipartisan issue , as a major reason for higher costs. Many Americans hold utility companies responsible for their rising home energy bills [ Pew Research Center ] May 5 Jay Peters A 40,000-acre data center project was just approved in Utah, despite outcry from the community. As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune , the planned hyperscale data center in Box Elder County, when fully completed, is expected to use 9 gigawatts of power — more than double the 4 gigawatts of power used by the state right now. The project is backed in part by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary. Apr 27 Jess Weatherbed A political battleground is forming around data centers. Multibillion-dollar data center developments in Georgia are sparking bipartisan backlash, with Politico reporting that 47 percent of local voters oppose the plans. Given this is just one of several states experiencing an AI boom , similar opposition may also define local and statewide elections going forward. Georgia’s battleground races give a first look at a brewing political storm [ Politico ] Apr 16 Jess Weatherbed Are AI data centers coming to your area? This free, crowd-sourced tracker website is one of the most comprehensive attempts we’ve seen to keep tabs on where new data centers are being proposed. Maps are currently available across 18 states, with data compiled from public sources. You can read about the Data Center Proposal Tracker creator’s methodology here . Here’s a screenshot from the tracker showing sites around NYC. Image: trackdatacenters.com Apr 15 Emma Roth Data centers will soon have to complete “mandatory” energy usage surveys. The plans, which were revealed in a letter seen by Wired , come in response to a bipartisan push to find out how much energy data centers are sucking up. The Energy Information Administration reportedly plans to launch the nationwide surveys after it wraps up pilot surveys in data center-heavy areas, such as Texas, Washington state, Washington DC, and northern Virginia. The US Government Will Ask Data Centers How Much Power They Use [ WIRED ] Apr 15 Andrew J. Hawkins “A data center should not be a potential death sentence for a community’s health.” The NAACP is suing xAI to block Elon Musk’s Colossus 2 data center project outside of Memphis, TN, claiming that the project is operating 27 gas turbines without an air permit and in violation of the Clean Air Act. “By looking to evade clear air laws to operate dirty turbines that emit pollution and known carcinogens, these companies are following a shameful, familiar pattern: asking Black and frontline communities to bear the toxic brunt of ‘innovation,” said Abre’ Conner, NAACP Director of Environmental and Climate Justice. NAACP lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s xAI of polluting Black neighborhoods near Memphis [ The Guardian ] Apr 6 Emma Roth Iran threatens OpenAI’s Stargate data center in Abu Dhabi An October 2025 image of OpenAI’s UAE Stargate data center under construction. Image: G42 Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has published a video threatening OpenAI’s planned Abu Dhabi data center if the US follows through on threats to attack the country’s power plants, as reported earlier by Tom’s Hardware . The video, which was published to an Iranian state-backed news outlet’s X account on April 3rd, says the IRGC will carry out the “complete and utter annihilation” of US-linked energy and technology companies in the region, before showing an image of OpenAI’s $30 billion in-progress Stargate facility in the United Arab Emirates. OpenAI’s overarching $500 billion Stargate project includes investments from Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank. It’s not clear how much of the Abu Dhabi data center is actually finished, as an October 2025 update showed the beginnings of the facilities that will contain 16 gigawatts of compute power. The update said construction was “well underway” and would meet its target of deploying 200 megawatts in 2026. OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment. Read Article > Mar 26 Stevie Bonifield Senators are pushing to find out how much electricity data centers actually use
- But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment.
- From audacious plans to launch data centers into space to the latest legal battles over pollution, The Verge has the biggest news and reporting surrounding data centers.
- May 6 Jay Peters 43 percent of Americans blame data centers as a major reason for rising power bills.
- That’s according to a new Pew Research Center survey .
If you want the exact wording, examples, or full context from the publisher, open the original source article.
Open Original Article
Comments
Post a Comment