Fossil Fuels

Because local electrical grids have struggled to produce enough power for data center demand, data centers have searched for “behind-the-meter” solutions for power, including gas generation and nuclear power. This enables data centers to plug directly into independently provided power, sidestepping investments in energy infrastructure. 

If feasible within your jurisdiction, localities should ban these power work-arounds, ensuring that data centers are only approved if and where local electric grids can support the data center demand without threatening grid reliability. 

Data centers able to bring their own renewable power, such as solar, may receive an exemption to limitations on “behind-the-meter” power. However, localities should scrutinize commitments from developers to bring their own renewable power, as these commitments often fail to sufficiently materialize in time (or at all). Critically, if the data center is not entirely self-supported by its power generation and is interconnected with the electrical grid, the data center must appropriately pay for the services it receives.

Block expansion of new fossil fuel infrastructure and stop all new fossil fuel permits for data centers. Pass legislation specifying that data center development cannot be used to delay closure of coal plants.

In his first month in office, President Trump issued an executive order declaring a national energy emergency and ordering agencies to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, and generation of domestic oil and gas resources to “power the next generation of technology.”¹ Notably, renewable energy projects were excluded, exposing the executive order as a handout to fossil fuel companies. Federal policymakers can use their authority to repeal or limit the effects of this so-called energy emergency.

1. Executive Order 14156 of January 20, 2025, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, 90 Fed. Reg. 8433 (2025), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/29/2025-02003/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency. ↩︎

Data center development must consider the impacts on domestic mining for critical minerals and rare earth elements. Congress can add conditions to relevant federal investment or research and development mandates¹ that minimize environmental harm, regional long-term economic impact, and require that local communities are included in the planning and approval of new mines.² Existing mines should be subject to heightened environmental remediation review. Given an appropriate period of notice, the federal government can terminate existing stakes in mining companies that do not conform to the updated standards.

1. U.S. Department of Energy, “Energy Department Announces $355 Million to Expand Domestic Production of Critical Minerals and Materials,” National Energy Technology Laboratory, November 17, 2025, https://netl.doe.gov/node/15113; USA Rare Earth, “USA Rare Earth Announces Letter of Intent with the U.S. Government for Access to $1.6 Billion in Funding to Accelerate the Domestic Heavy Rare Earth Value Chain. Concurrently, USA Rare Earth Raises $1.5 Billion in Private Sector Investment,” USA Rare Earth, January 26, 2026, https://investors.usare.com/node/8221/pdf. ↩︎
2. Danielle Riedl, Devashree Saha and Luke Balleny, “A New Era of US Mineral Mining Must Put Communities First,” World Resources Institute, January 5, 2026, https://www.wri.org/insights/us-critical-mineral-mining-community-impacts. ↩︎

The federal government can set and commit to “ambitious and legally binding emissions reduction targets”¹ to empower a fast and just transition to renewable energy deployment and phase out fossil fuels. 

1. Johanna Bozuwa and Dustin Mulvaney, “A Progressive Take on Permitting Reform: Principles and Policies to Unleash a Faster, More Equitable Green Transition,” Roosevelt Institute,August 22, 2023, https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/a-progressive-take-on-permitting-reform. ↩︎
   26 U.S.C. § 45Q (2023). ↩︎

Prohibit the extraction of fossil fuels on federal land (including drilling in the outer Continental Shelf) and coal leases on federal land.