Andy Masley
Writer on AI and the environment, publishing long quantitative posts at blog.andymasley.com that check the arithmetic behind claims about what data centres do to local water, land and electricity.
Andy Masley did not write this page.
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Our reading
The data-centre backlash is about the buildings themselves, not about what people think of AI.
Their wordsAll this combined with the survey data on Americans’ stated reasons for opposing data centers makes me think that attitudes toward AI are probably a meaningful factor for a minority of people opposed to data centers, but I don’t think the backlash overall is driven by people’s thoughts on AI.
↗I think the data center backlash is mostly about data centersblog.andymasley.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsI have a long separate post here looking at the evidence we have, and I come away thinking the data center backlash is basically entirely homegrown.
↗I think the data center backlash is mostly about data centersblog.andymasley.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 4 months earlier
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Their wordsThis post is about whether data centers waste the land they’re on relative to what they compete with, and my claim is that they mostly don’t compete with things we need more of (housing) and mostly compete with things we need less of (farmland).
- 7 months earlier
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Their wordsSo AI consumes approximately 0.04% of America’s freshwater if you include onsite and offsite use, and only 0.008% if you include just the water in data centers.
↗The AI water issue is fakeblog.andymasley.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
A data centre earns its county far more tax revenue per gallon of water than a golf course does.
Their wordsData centers are so much more efficient with their water that they generate 50x as much tax revenue per unit of water used than golf courses in the county:
↗The AI water issue is fakeblog.andymasley.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsIt’s very common that I’m told that data centers poison the water around them.
↗The AI water issue is fakeblog.andymasley.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 1 day earlier
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Our reading
The American states with the fastest electricity load growth saw prices fall rather than rise.
Their wordsA Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found that state-level load growth from 2019 to 2024 — including growth driven by data centers, manufacturing, and electrification — was associated with lower average retail electricity prices, not higher ones.
↗Data centers & electricity - part 1: as of 2025 they haven't raised national pricesblog.andymasley.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsThis is the first conclusion of my deep dive: Data centers have (so far) not affected national average household electricity bills.
↗Data centers & electricity - part 1: as of 2025 they haven't raised national pricesblog.andymasley.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsThis is not to say that data centers won’t affect national prices in the future.
↗Data centers & electricity - part 1: as of 2025 they haven't raised national pricesblog.andymasley.com 3rd of 3 in this piece