As tech and government leaders gathered in recent days to debate the existential threat that artificial intelligence could one day pose to humanity, for many Black and Brown communities across the country, the infrastructure powering AI is already an environmental threat.
“Energy demand has spiked nationwide thanks to data centers, and we must ensure that the cost of serving that new demand is borne by those creating it — not people just trying to keep up with their electric bills,” Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., a lawmaker whose state has the highest number of data centers in the country, said in July in support of legislation aimed at forcing tech companies to carry their fair share of higher energy costs.
Data centers are large facilities that hold large amounts of computer information and data used by AI, computers, and other technological equipment. They are used by many types of technology companies beyond AI model developers and first emerged in the 1940s, but the recent boom in the construction of data centers is rooted in the rise in AI technology.
Data centers and their environmental impact are emerging as a pivotal issue in the midterm elections. Just over half – roughly 53% – of Americans polled said they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the environmental impact of AI, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
But the disparate impact on predominantly Black and Brown communities has not received as much public focus, despite advocates’ warnings that these populations will disproportionately feel the environmental brunt.
“Our communities, especially Black and Brown communities, are feeling the impacts of rapid AI data center growth, from environmental harm and water stress to rising electricity costs,” Rep. Valerie Foushee said earlier this year in a statement.
Earlier this year, members of the Congressional Black Caucus introduced a measure calling for guardrails on the building data centers. The bill would “ensure communities are informed, before deals are finalized, of plans to build AI data centers in their neighborhoods, providing the opportunity for grassroots input.”
“These facilities can consume as much energy as entire cities and place significant strain on local resources,” Foushee said in the statement. “Yet, too often communities are left out of decisions that directly affect their health, environment, and economic stability.”
There are 4,767 existing and proposed data centers in the U.S., according to an industry estimate by Data Center Map, an industry intelligence provider
The surge of new data center construction, roughly 67%, has clustered in the rural South and Midwest, according to an estimate from Pew Research Center this spring. The surge is fueled, in part, by access to cheaper land, favorable tax breaks and fewer environmental restrictions to build compared to other parts of the country.
Previous data centers were centered in urban areas.
The “AI boom” has led to investments from tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Meta and Google, and the Trump administration has moved to limit public input and remove environmental safeguards.
But the placement of these centers near Black communities also aligns with historical patterns of redlining, which have undervalued property held by communities of color.
A significant point of controversy around data centers in local communities stems from the pollution they release into the surrounding environment and a lack of communication with the neighborhoods they impact.
According to the Environmental Health Project, data centers increase three types of pollution: noise, light, and air pollution. Long-term impacts of noise and air pollution include hearing loss, insomnia, stress, and decreased quality of life.
This combination of all of these factors – historic redlining, environmental pollution, and political disenfranchisement – has magnified concerns that these communities will also pick up the tab for higher electricity and water bills and will suffer whatever health consequences may emerge from being close to data centers.
For example, Virginia has more data centers than any other state, part of its attempt to position itself as the “nation’s digital capital.” In Virginia, data center builders found cheap land close to the federal government — a large data purchaser — and tax breaks, Virginia Tech Professor Ali Mehrizi-Sani told Virginia Mercury.
The state also had infrastructure, as America Online, a key architect of the Internet revolution, had moved into Ashburn in 1997. Within Virginia, the areas with the highest concentration of data centers are Richmond, Fredericksburg and Ashburn, per data from the Data Center Map.
Richmond, the state’s capital, has 134 proposed and existing data centers, according to the organization’s analysis and is home to numerous communities of color. Census data shows it has a 41% Black population, much higher than the state or national average.
A data center operated by Cogent Communications, a company that markets network services to AI firms, sits in ZIP code 23219, an area of the city with an 84% Black population, according to an Emancipator analysis of Census survey data.
About 1,600 households reside in this part of the city, sandwiched between the historical Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, which played a key role in the human trade, and the modern-day Mosby Court, a public housing community slated for “redevelopment.” Nearby the data center is the city’s African burial ground and a hospital.
In 2024-2025, the median annual household income of this slice of the city was $22,942, well below the rest of the city’s, which was $64,587. According to Census Reporter, the poverty rate was “more than double the rate in [the rest of] Richmond,” with 46.2% of people below the national poverty line.
Some tech leaders gathered at POLITICO’s “Decoded” AI Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday argue that other communities are also home to data centers and that the facilities also benefit the neighborhoods where they are based.
“Loudoun County, which is not too far from here, and Ashburn, Virginia, have the highest concentration of data centers in the United States. It also happens to be one of the richest zip codes, or set of zip codes,” David Casem, the CEO of Telnyx, told the gathering. David Casem, the CEO of Telnyx, told the gathering.
The tech leaders also acknowledged more work is needed to include community input.
“We’re enhancing our level of transparency by having open houses in communities,” David Zapolsky, the Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer of Amazon, said. “We’re also investing in communities directly by listening to communities, hearing what their concerns are, whether it’s public safety, education, and we’re funding those needs.”
Managing Editor Lima Abdullah and Senior Correspondent Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.
