The immense infrastructure commonly referred to as "the cloud" is not ethereal but grounded in massive industrial warehouses known as data centers, which are indispensable for nearly every digital function, from booking a flight to accessing healthcare or government services. These facilities demand 100% uptime and perpetual cooling, making their energy needs astronomical. The urgent footage report from Bloomberg Originals, titled "The World Needs AI, But There's a Problem," dissects how the explosive and seemingly "unconstrained" growth of these data centers, particularly in Northern Virginia, has created a major crisis threatening local communities and the national power grid.
Northern Virginia has cemented its status as the "red hot center" of global data center development, currently housing about 13% of data centers globally and a full quarter of the US total. This concentration initially occurred because data processing companies sought proximity to their government customers in D.C., and the area offered a strong fiber network, a reliable and relatively cheap power grid, fewer natural disasters, and tax incentives. However, the human impact of this expansion is severe. Residents near developments like Village Tech Park in Gainesville feel "besieged" by the massive structures being built too close to their homes. For example, one resident noted that the removal of trees lining train tracks has caused train noise to become significantly louder. Shocked by the rapid change, some residents are looking to relocate. Local officials, like a newly elected Supervisor, are attempting to act as the "traffic cop" for land use, arguing that while data centers generate revenue, these industrial warehouses should not be placed indiscriminately next to homes, schools, or national parks. Critics emphasize that if the current land-use direction continues, Virginia risks losing its scenic history.
The core of the conflict lies in unprecedented power consumption. A single data hall, measuring roughly 20,000 square feet, can consume up to four megawatts of power, enough to run as many as 12,000 homes. Currently, Virginia’s existing data centers use about five gigawatts—enough to power roughly half the homes in the state. This demand has been turbocharged over the last two years, particularly following the launch of ChatGPT. The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires GPU infrastructure—a parallel processing architecture—which cannot run efficiently on standard CPU infrastructure. Critically, the power factor for these GPU racks is 5x to 10x higher than traditional CPU racks, driving "incredible demand" for new data center capacity.
This runaway demand is now challenging the reliability of energy systems both regionally and nationally. Dominion Energy, the power company responsible for the region, forecasts that data centers currently in its pipeline will require an additional 40 gigawatts. The global forecast is even starker: 7,000 data centers are built or planned worldwide, with expected energy consumption projected to exceed 2,900 terawatt hours annually by 2034, nearly double the annual energy usage of India. Tech leaders and energy companies interviewed by Bloomberg Originals acknowledge that the world currently lacks sufficient electricity to meet this demand, leading to years-long wait times for businesses seeking to connect to the electric grid. This capacity crunch is predicted to impact sustainability goals over the short term, requiring the use of more fossil fuels unless a pause is implemented. Opponents assert that the industry is overwhelming the region with "no laws and standards," and are lobbying lawmakers to hold the world’s wealthiest corporations accountable for the immense energy demands of their business models. They stress that while they are not "anti-data" or anti-technology, they cannot accept the community being asked to sacrifice its reliable energy, clean air, clean water, and well-being for growth lacking accountability.
