Fengqi You

Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor in Energy Systems Engineering

Fengqi You, professor of energy systems engineering at Cornell University, studies the role of artificial intelligence in sustainable energy systems. He recently co-authored analysis of the AI data center environmental impact state-by-state.

You says:

“New York has real advantages for hosting data centers: a cooler climate that lowers cooling energy and water use, low water stress compared with the West and Sun Belt, and a relatively low-carbon grid upstate from hydropower and nuclear. But capacity should not be judged only by available land or by whether a single project can secure an interconnection. Large AI data centers are major new electricity and water users, and they can shift costs onto the grid, local infrastructure, ratepayers, and host communities if they are not planned carefully.

“Our 2025 Nature Sustainability study found that rapid AI-server growth in the United States could add 24–44 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions and 731–1,125 million cubic meters of water use per year by 2030. What stands out is how much siting and operations matter: in our modeling, where and how servers are distributed swung their carbon footprint from a 49% reduction to a 90% increase, and best practices in siting, grid decarbonization, and efficiency could cut impacts by up to about 73% for carbon and 86% for water. 

“A one-year pause can accomplish something if it is used productively. It could give New York time to assess data-center electricity and water demand, understand grid interconnection needs, clarify who pays for infrastructure upgrades, establish efficiency and cooling standards, and ensure communities have meaningful input. But a pause by itself is not a sustainability strategy. The real value would come from using that year to build a science-based framework that lets beneficial AI infrastructure grow while protecting climate goals, water resources, ratepayers, and host communities.”

C. Lindsay Anderson

Associate Professor in Biological and Environmental Engineering and Faculty Director for Energy with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability

Lindsay Anderson is a professor of biological and environmental engineering. She studies New York’s energy grid.

Anderson says: 

“Data centers concentrate large electricity loads in ways that strain grid capacity planning — a real concern as New York simultaneously pursues building and transportation electrification, renewables growth, and the retirement of aging gas generation. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has already flagged reliability risks from rising load projections, and data center growth is a central driver. A short-term moratorium could create breathing room for better planning but won't resolve the underlying tension between load growth and clean energy goals. What's needed is a structured process for evaluating proposed data centers that accounts for location, demand flexibility, and community impact — balancing the sector’s economic benefits against grid reliability and affordability.”