AI data center moratorium

Extracted Attributes

• Key Concerns

  Grid strain, environmental sustainability, job displacement, and wealth concentration among the '1%'.

• Core Objective

  To pause construction of AI-powering data centers to allow for democratic oversight and regulatory framework development.

• Energy Projection

  Global data center electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030.

• Opposing Argument

  National security risk regarding the AI primacy race against China and potential economic stagnation.

• Primary Proponent

  Bernie Sanders (U.S. Senator)

• Global Energy Impact

  Data center electricity consumption estimated at 415 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024, representing 1.5% of global demand.

Timeline

• Singapore implements a moratorium on new data center developments due to limited power capacity. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2019-01-01

• The Dutch government halts new hyperscale data center approvals for nine months; EirGrid in Ireland enacts a de facto moratorium in Dublin for up to six years. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2022-01-01

• Global data center electricity consumption reaches approximately 415 TWh. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-01-01

• Over 200 organizations, including faith groups and physicians, sign a letter calling for a national moratorium on new data center construction in the U.S. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2025-12-08

• Senator Bernie Sanders officially calls for a moratorium on AI data center construction to ensure technology benefits the general public. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2025-12-16

• Projected date by which data center electricity consumption is expected to double from 2024 levels. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2030-01-01

Data center

A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Since IT operations are crucial for business continuity, a data center generally includes redundant or backup components and infrastructure for power supply, data communication connections, environmental controls (e.g., cooling, fire suppression), and various security devices. Data centers are the foundation of the digital infrastructure that powers the modern economy, aggregating collective computing demands for cloud services, video streaming, blockchain and crypto mining, machine learning, and virtual reality. Large data centers operate at an industrial scale, requiring significant energy. Estimated global data center electricity consumption in 2024 was around 415 terawatt hours (TWh), or about 1.5% of global electricity demand. The IEA projects that data center electricity consumption could double by 2030. High demand, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning workloads is accelerating the deployment of high-performance servers, leading to greater power density and increased strain on electric grids. Data centers can vary widely in terms of size, power requirements, redundancy, and overall structure. Four common categories used to segment types of data centers are onsite data centers, colocation facilities, hyperscale data centers, and edge data centers. In particular, colocation centers often host private peering connections between their customers, internet transit providers, cloud providers, meet-me rooms for connecting customers together Internet exchange points, and landing points and terminal equipment for fiber optic submarine communication cables, which are critical to connecting the internet.

Web Search Results

• US Senator Bernie Sanders calls for AI data center construction ...

  # Home News The Data Center Construction Channel # US Senator Bernie Sanders calls for AI data center construction moratorium To "give democracy a chance to catch up" By : Sebastian Moss Have your say The independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has called for a moratorium on AI data center construction. [...] The broader Dutch government halted new hyperscale data center approvals in 2022 for nine months, again citing a lack of space. In Ireland, EirGrid in 2022 enacted a de facto moratorium on new data center builds around Dublin for as much as six years due to grid connection concerns. Singapore has similarly had a moratorium on new data center developments since 2019 due to the city-state's limited power, but it recently said it could support 200MW of new capacity. [...] In the US, amid growing local pushback against large data center projects, a patchwork of moratoria has sprung up around the country. Multiple councils across Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho, and Pennsylvania have all introduced moratoria of different levels against data center development or denied ordinance changes that would allow them to be built. Various counties in Indiana have blocked new developments. ## More in Standards & Regulations

• Bernie Sanders calls for halt on AI data center construction

  > I will be pushing for a moratorium on the construction of data centers that are powering the unregulated sprint to develop & deploy AI.The moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up, and ensure that the benefits of technology work for all of us, not just the 1%. pic.twitter.com/PoV5ziA4oQDecember 16, 2025 [...] U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that he will push for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers to ensure that the technology will be useful for the greatest number of Americans and not just the few multi-billionaires who are advocating for the widespread use of artificial intelligence. According to the senator’s X post, this delay “will give democracy a chance to catch up, and ensure that the benefits of technology work for all of us, not just the 1%.” Sanders raised three

• Bernie Sanders Wants to Pause AI Data Center Construction

  In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, the Vermont senator and two-time presidential candidate said he would begin pushing for a national moratorium on the construction of AI data centers. He argued that AI, which he called one of the most "transformative technologies in the history of humanity," is moving too rapidly for lawmakers and citizens to keep up. [...] > I will be pushing for a moratorium on the construction of data centers that are powering the unregulated sprint to develop & deploy AI. > > The moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up, and ensure that the benefits of technology work for all of us, not just the 1%. pic.twitter.com/PoV5ziA4oQ > > — Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 16, 2025 [...] While Sanders is not the only AI critic on Capitol Hill, his planned proposal would go further than most. He is likely the first national politician to call for a moratorium on the construction of data centers, which are the primary infrastructure needed to support the expansion of AI.

• The Real Race for an AI Moratorium: Stopping Data Centers

  She’s helped organize hundreds of residents across Prince George’s County to attend public hearings and community meetings. “The more we become aware of these projects, the more likely we are to stop them.” By September, local policymakers in Prince George’s County had implemented a six-month moratorium on data center construction. [...] Confronted with similar stakes, cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake. From Maryland to Missouri, at least fourteen states are home to towns or counties that have implemented moratoriums: a complete pause on data center development. In early December, over 200 groups – from faith groups in Florida and Louisiana to physicians in Texas – publicly called for a moratorium on new data center construction nationwide. On Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined the [...] calling for a statewide moratorium since last October: “Hyperscaler data centers are the single biggest threat to affordability, reliability, and environmental sustainability in Indiana this decade,” said CAC Program Director Ben Inskeep in a statement.

• [PDF] Org Letter: National Data Center Moratorium - Food & Water Watch

  National Data Center Moratorium Now! December 8, 2025 Dear Members of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations collectively representing millions of people in all 50 states, call on you to support a national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers. The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation. This