DCAN
Let's Stand Together
The Data Center Action Network connects people across the country who are fighting data center projects that come with unacceptable social and environmental costs and have been approved without democratic input.
We organize events where data center activists can share experiences, information, and inspiration to help each other do their work better and support those trying to start up similar campaigns in their own communities.
About
The Data Center Action Network connects people across the country who are fighting data center projects. There are nearly 5,000 data centers in the United States. Construction on the facilities has been surging for years in response to the increased energy demands for data processing capacity from cloud computing.
But tech companies are ramping up construction of these facilities to cope with the energy needs of artificial intelligence systems.
A data center can use millions of gallons of water daily for cooling, and there is little transparency around the pollution effects of this use. The cost for using that water is often shifted to residents in the form of rate hikes. Data center projects are often given tax breaks and incentives that amount to up to a billion dollars of state subsidies for the industry, in some states.
Data centers produce light and noise pollution, as well as local and global climate effects that accelerate climate change and make life difficult or impossible for their neighbors.
We provide opportunities for those working on this emerging issue to gather and share experiences, information, and inspiration to help each other do their work better and support those trying to start up similar campaigns in their own communities.
DCAN is a project of RootsAction and Roots Action Education Fund.
Learn More
Data centers are causing big problems.
New data center projects are facing public resistance that crosses party and economic lines. According to a recent poll, 72% of respondents would oppose a new data center project in their area. Strong majorities of Republicans and Democrats both oppose the projects.
Consumer-facing AI systems have been touted by industry as democratizing access to information. But regular people are footing the bill for the AI buildout: a 2025 report shows that at least 10 states were already losing more than $100 million per year in tax revenue to data centers, and many states failed to make public how much money they were handing over to these companies at all.
A lack of transparency defines this growing industry. People who want to object to a new data center project–or even just learn about the company behind it–have found that tech companies are using NDAs, shell companies, and other techniques to conceal their involvement in unpopular data center projects. These companies often do not disclose the full extent of the water and energy demands of these centers.
But they use a tremendous amount of energy. A new study estimated that the current rate of data center expansion would produce an additional 24 to 44 million metric tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide. At a critical moment for climate change mitigation, new gas plants are being built, and old fossil fuel plants are being kept open, to meet growing demand.
But we can do something about it.
Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a moratorium on new data centers until they can be regulated. Dozens of cities and states across the country have passed moratoriums, or are in the process.
Senator Sanders has also proposed a Sovereign Wealth Fund for AI, where 50% of large AI companies would be publicly owned.
Communities that push back on data centers often win: from California to Wisconsin to Michigan to New York, grassroots campaigns have managed to pause or stop data center projects.
You can find a map of active data center campaigns here.
You can find a map of existing data centers in the United States here.
Get Involved
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