Data centers are in focus today as U.S. manufacturers grapple with sharply higher electricity bills.
Many are pointing to data centers as the main driver of rising utility costs, according to a Reuters review of U.S. energy data and interviews with nearly a dozen manufacturers and industry groups.
At the same time, environmental advocates are warning that a wave of gas-fired power plants being built to serve data centers could significantly increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Rising electricity bills
One example comes from Ohio, where Belden Brick Company in Sugarcreek said its electricity costs surged 90% last year, largely because of growing power demand from data centers in the region.
The 141-year-old brick manufacturer said the increase was driven mainly by a monthly capacity charge that jumped from about $1,600 to $12,000.
Belden Brick is among a growing number of manufacturers across the U.S. industrial heartland facing higher costs as power-hungry data centers supporting the artificial intelligence boom proliferate.
Federal, state and local governments, responding to consumer anger and grid-stability concerns, are pushing Big Tech to shoulder more of the costs associated with their expected power demand. Some proposals, however, would also affect smaller manufacturers, whose energy needs are a fraction of companies such as Meta and Amazon.
Meta declined to comment. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Industry groups and policy experts say rising power costs and regulatory uncertainty threaten manufacturers at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is prioritizing domestic production. Some companies are considering raising prices, slowing growth, or in some cases relocating.
Click here to find out more about the rising bills for manufacturers.
Rising greenhouse gas emissions
Dozens of planned gas-fired plants intended to supply data centers directly could emit as much greenhouse gas annually as Australia or France, according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project.
The group reviewed 74 proposed or planned projects that would provide electricity directly to data centers, bypassing the traditional process of connecting to the U.S. electric grid. Together, the projects are expected to generate 143 gigawatts of electricity and could produce 662 million tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions.
These off-grid, or “behind the meter” projects are being approved rapidly across the U.S., often with limited public scrutiny, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings and interviews with public officials, residents, researchers and company executives.
Many can move ahead in months rather than years because they avoid some permitting requirements, environmental reviews and public hearings typically associated with large power projects.
Developers argue that such off-grid plants for private customers are exempt from many of those requirements.
The EIP report said the scale of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions could pose public health risks to nearby communities through pollutants such as nitrous oxide (NOx) and benzene.
