All the latest updates on AI data centers

Just as new data centers face growing backlash from neighboring communities, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is about to make it harder for people to weigh in on any pollution those centers create.

The EPA plans to toss out a federal rule requiring public notice and an opportunity to comment when certain industrial sites apply for an air permit. Advocates warn that the move would allow data center developers and other industries to break ground without giving nearby residents a say, or even a warning that construction is planned.

To power its new West Texas data center, Amazon is investing in the construction of a new power plant that could be one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the US, according to The New York Times. The new gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas, has received significant investment from Amazon and, at least initially, would not be connected to the state’s power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would primarily deliver its 7.65 gigawatts of electricity to the new data center.

According to Cleanview, which tracks data centers and their associated power projects, GW Ranch received a permit from Texas allowing for the emission of up to 33 million tons of CO2, more than even the largest coal plant in the country. Plants rarely emit as much greenhouse gas as their permits allow, but it’s still notable that the restrictions on its pollution levels are so lax. Amazon has confirmed that it purchased the site and plans to purchase power from GW Ranch.

Today, I’m talking with Gaby Del Valle, a policy reporter here at The Verge, about the growing backlash against AI data centers.

Gaby recently reported a fantastic piece about Hernando County, Florida, where last month the county commission unanimously approved a yearlong moratorium on data center construction. She attended a protest there organized by a group called Humans First, a conservative grassroots movement focused on combating AI data center build-outs.

Driven by demand for AI capacity, AMD’s data center revenue more than doubled year-over-year in its latest earnings report, reaching $6.7 billion. That’s up from $5.8 billion in Q1, and jumping 107 percent from the $3.2 billion it reported for the same period a year ago. During Tuesday’s earnings call, AMD CEO Lisa Su said the company expects “data center segment revenue to more than double year-over-year in 2027,” as well.

At the same time, AMD’s gaming revenue fell 31 percent compared to last year, to $779 million, as price hikes and component shortages slowed sales for the Xbox Series X / S, PS5, and Valve’s Steam Deck. On a call after the earnings were released, Su told analysts that, “Gaming graphics revenue also declined year-over-year, as higher industry-wide component costs contributed to higher graphics card prices and weighed on overall demand.”

Texas announced new a audit on data centers that could slow approval for new facilities seeking to connect to the state energy grid.

Governor Greg Abbott (R) on Monday directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to verify and audit new data center proposals, writing that the review is needed to “keep the grid stable and reliable.” Data centers will need to provide information on state and local incentives they’ve received, how much they’d rely on the state grid, expected water consumption and sources, and how they plan to track community impacts including noise.

On a gray, humid Saturday morning in central Florida, a little under a dozen people gathered outside the Spring Hill Branch Library to protest the construction of a hyperscale data center in their community. There was no immediate threat — the Hernando County commission had unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on such developments in June — but the organizers weren’t satisfied. A temporary pause wouldn’t be enough. They wanted a ban.

“We are going to fight, fight, fight,” said a 71-year-old woman named Carol, who was manning a table with flyers and a petition the group, No Data Centers Hernando County, planned on presenting to the local government. Carol, a retired country music radio host, is a staunch conservative and a proud Floridian. The American flag on her red T-shirt was made up of little sea turtles. A white visor, bedazzled with red and blue rhinestones, shielded her face from the late-morning sun. “How would you like to have one by you? If you live within 15 minutes of a data center, night and day you’re going to hear: EEEEENNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

In the face of backlash to concerns the AI boom will increase consumer electricity bills, the largest utility companies and data center developers in the US are now promising to do something about it. The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 200 organizations have signed President Donald Trump’s “rate payer protection pledge” that’s meant to safeguard average citizens from footing the AI bill.

Trump is expected to announce the new signatories on Thursday, which include NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix, and Digital Realty, according to a list obtained by The WSJ. An unnamed White House official told the publication that those who have committed to the pledge now account for about 80 percent of all power delivered to homes and businesses across the US.

New hyperscale data centers can’t set up shop in New York for up to a year now that Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has signed the nation’s first statewide moratorium. But a bill passed by the state legislature that could restrict even more developments still awaits her signature.

The order blocks new environmental permits for data centers over 50 megawatts, which the governor’s office says will give the state time to come up with the regulations needed to protect residents from rising energy prices and environmental impact. That’s higher than the 20 megawatt threshold approved by state lawmakers. Hochul’s office could not immediately identify the number of proposals that would be impacted by the order, but says the threshold is meant to prevent disruption to smaller data centers used by institutions like hospitals. Hochul has not yet said whether she will sign the moratorium passed through the legislature, but the executive action allows her to enact a first-in-the-nation pause while reviewing the bill.