Data centers are booming. Indigenous leaders want help protecting their lands.

The boom in AI data centers is putting new pressure on land, water, and electricity, and it's raising concerns far beyond the tech industry. A large, AI-focused "hyperscale" data center can use 100 megawatts or more of power a year, about as much as 100,000 households, and data centers in the U.S. drew an estimated 17.4 billion gallons of water directly in 2023, with electricity generation for them using another 211 billion gallons. Indigenous leaders in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Chile, and elsewhere say these projects often go up on or near their lands without real consultation, straining local water and power supplies.

For homeowners, the relevant part is the electricity angle. In some places where data centers have been built, residents report rising electricity bills and expectations of further rate hikes, since the huge power draw of these facilities can add strain to the local grid. Some U.S. tribal governments, including the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, have passed moratoriums pausing new data center construction while they study the impact. Not every community is opposed — some Indigenous nations, including the Woodland Cree First Nation in Alberta, are investing in data centers themselves for the economic benefits.

If you live near a proposed or existing data center, it's worth knowing that these fights over water, power, and electricity rates are playing out in communities across the country, and they can affect what you pay for electricity even if the facility itself is nowhere near your property line.