WORLD 26/07/21 Catholic climate experts warn about AI power demands straining res

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The type and size of AI data servers are changing rapidly, making enormous demands on electricity and the environment

Substations and transformers are seen at a Digital Realty data center in Ashburn, Virginia, on Nov. 12, 2025. (Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

By Umar Manzoor Shah

Published: July 22, 2026 11:05 AM GMT

Updated: July 22, 2026 11:10 AM GMT

Catholic climate advocates and energy experts warn that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is placing unprecedented demands on electricity and water supplies, driving up energy costs and pollution levels.

The concerns were raised during a July 21 webinar organized by Catholic Climate Covenant on energy affordability, clean energy, and data centers.

The webinar was addressed by Maria Fernanda Chavez, senior energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Jamie Dickerson, senior director of climate and clean energy programs at Acadia Center, and Ian Moise, director of Catholic Energies.

Paz Artaza-Regan, program manager at Catholic Climate Covenant, said the discussion focused on the energy demands of data centers and on what state and local governments can do to develop cleaner strategies.

The event also examined how Catholic institutions can reduce their energy use and transition churches, schools, hospitals, and other facilities to renewable power.

The servers that process data for AI have existed for decades, but their “type and the size” are changing rapidly as AI infrastructure expands and electricity consumption rises, Chavez said.

It took Wisconsin’s largest utility about 120 years to build up roughly five gigawatts of electricity demand from its customers. But the proposed data centers could add a similar amount of demand within just a few years.

Communities, she said, are concerned that they lack sufficient information about what such projects could mean for electricity prices, water consumption and pollution.

“Data centers could be responsible for over a third of electricity system costs by 2050” in Wisconsin, Chavez said, and urged regulators not to shift those expenses to ordinary households and businesses.

Data centers are the physical infrastructure that process data to make our digital lives possible. Roughly 12,000 data centers are in operation worldwide, with about half in the US, according to Cloudscene, a data center directory.

Dickerson said the PJM electricity market, the largest regional power grid operator in the US, has seen data center-driven demand contribute to billions of dollars in power capacity costs.

“Data centers are consuming enormous amounts of power,” Dickerson said, adding that technology companies should be required to bring new clean electricity onto the grid to meet the additional demand they create.

Experts also highlighted environmental justice concerns.

Large data centers can rely on diesel backup generators and new fossil fuel infrastructure, creating additional air pollution in surrounding communities.

Artaza-Regan noted that some large facilities are located in lower-income communities and communities of color, raising questions about who receives the economic benefits and who bears the environmental costs.

The discussion also turned to what Catholic institutions can do themselves.

Moise said Catholic Energies has expanded its programs from developing solar projects into broader decarbonization initiatives, serving dioceses, parishes, schools, hospitals, religious orders and other Catholic ministries.

“Sustainability is our expertise and stewardship is our mission,” he said.

Moise framed energy efficiency as both a financial and faith-based decision. “Would you rather invest in your ministry or would you rather invest in your utility company?” he asked.

Catholic Energies has worked with more than 100 Catholic institutions in recent months to pursue solar energy and has roughly 25 to 30 active solar projects, Moise said.

In one case, he said, an institution shifted to 100 percent wind-generated electricity through a clean energy procurement program and is expected to save $12,000 on electricity bills over five years.

“With data centers changing the energy picture everywhere, our offerings aim to move Catholic institutions from reactive budgeting to proactive stewardship,” Moise said.