AI Head Honchos Come to the Triangle for G20 Summit Amid Data Center Backlash

Chapel Hill, NC  — Today, technology CEOs from SpaceX, Nvidia, and OpenAI are slated to speak in Chapel Hill as part of the G20 summit to discuss data centers, innovation, and AI policy, a day after President Trump derided communities with concerns about data centers as “backwards.” Meanwhile, new research from Global Strategy Group on behalf of Climate Power finds a remarkably rapid decline in support for data centers in public opinion over just the past few months. Americans believe data centers are driving up their utility bills and making the grid less reliable, and they see a broader pattern of air pollution and strain on the water and resources of the communities in which they get built.

The Trump Administration has cozied up to data center interests, with Trump telling communities they “can’t fight” the buildout and “have to go with it.” His EPA under Lee Zeldin exempted data center power plants from Clean Air Act protections against acid rain. His DOJ and EPA intervened in federal court on behalf of the worst-polluting data centers, arguing that AI’s national security implications put those facilities above the law and render community concerns moot. He is pressuring hyperscalers to power the buildout with diesel generators, gas turbines, and coal plants, which will drive utility bills up further while polluting our communities.

Key Public Opinion Findings from the Global Strategy Group report:

1. People believe that tech companies should pay their own way
2. The public wants new data centers to be powered by new clean energy and not pollute our air and water
3. People want a real say in the development of new data centers

Terryn Hall, North Carolina State Director, Climate Power released the following statement:

“These tech CEOs should know that innovation and growth should not come at the expense of North Carolina families, and they should not be aligning with Trump’s campaign to bully communities into accepting dirty data centers with no guardrails. With the ongoing historic drought and rising utility bills here, data center growth for growth’s sake will only make the backlash stronger. What we need is thoughtful, community-focused rules of the road that protect our environment, our families, and our pocketbooks.” 

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