Two weeks ago, the mayor announced her team would work to identify long-term policy approaches to data centers, including exploring a moratorium. She proceeded to instruct relevant City departments to develop a coordinated approach, with the aim of addressing substantial public policy concern about the potential impacts of data centers on utility costs, community health, economic resilience, pollution, and equity.
In addition to continued partnership with City Council on legislation creating a one-year moratorium on new or expanded large-load (10MW+) data centers, we are pleased to announce rapid progress working with departments to identify some key initial steps for action.
- Seattle City Light is finalizing its work to develop a large-load policy for data centers to ensure infrastructure and extra purchasing and use costs are not borne by Seattle residents and residents in areas Seattle City Light serves.
- Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities are surveying national best practices, and will in the next several months propose relevant rate structures and necessary legislation to ensure that residents and businesses will not pay increased utility costs because of large-load data centers.
- The City will prioritize advocating for state legislation regulating the impacts of large-load data centers during the 2027 legislative session, which should include requirements around clean energy, air and noise pollution standards, sustainable water use, and job quality.
- The City will prepare a report analyzing the economic impacts of data centers, considering where data centers are most likely to be sited if Seattle permanently prohibits or restricts data centers, and how data centers could be integrated into existing policies and procedures regarding emergency management.
We appreciate the partnership of our City Council colleagues and look forward to engaging with them on this important issue.
Background on the national landscape from AI Now’s North Star Data Policy Toolkit:
- Data centers are significant producers of carbon emissions, which worsen air quality and threaten the immediate health of communities. As the electricity grid struggles to keep up with the immense demand of AI data centers, companies are increasingly turning to dirty behind-the-meter power sources, further exacerbating public health impacts. The diesel generators frequently used for backup power release additional pollutants and toxins that cause asthma, cancer, heart attacks, and cognitive decline. By 2030, air pollution from data centers alone could cause an additional 600,000 asthma cases annually in the US and an estimated 1,300 premature deaths.
- Data centers are using up precious water resources across the country, with a single data center consuming as much water as a city of 50,000 people. Tech companies report record water consumption figures due to their growing data center footprints, even as they build more data centers in water-scarce locations. These numbers are also likely an undercount, as water for construction, cooling, and energy infrastructure is rarely considered in projections of data center water use.
- Data center expansion is returning communities to reliance on fossil fuels and reversing our limited climate progress. … According to the Center for Biological Diversity, carbon emissions from data center expansion, primarily powered by fracked gas and coal, are expected to triple by 2035, reaching 10 percent of our economy-wide emissions and 44 percent of the power-sector emissions allowable to meet the US 2035 climate target.
- Data center construction and ongoing operation generate significant noise pollution, including from generators, heating and cooling systems, and energy infrastructure. This can result in negative health consequences and a lower quality of life for both workers and nearby residents, from headaches, stress, and disrupted sleep, which in turn can lead to cognitive impairment and cardiovascular risks. There are also significant impacts on local wildlife, with noise pollution disrupting animals’ communication including alerts to danger, and can impact migration patterns.