Massive new data centers are the physical foundation for tech companies’ hopes and dreams for AI. But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment. From audacious plans to launch data centers into space to the latest legal battles over pollution, The Verge has the biggest news and reporting surrounding data centers.Senators are pushing to find out how much electricity data centers actually useHow the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costsSeven tech giants signed Trump’s pledge to keep electricity costs from spiking around data centers Trump claims tech companies will sign deals next week to pay for their own power supplyAnthropic says it’ll try to keep its data centers from raising electricity costsHow an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center projectMicrosoft wants to rewire data centers to save spaceNew York is considering two bills to rein in the AI industryElon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he saysIt’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centersMeta is spending millions to convince people that data centers are cool and you like themThe winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centersOpenAI says its data centers will pay for their own energy and limit water usageMicrosoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centersCommunities are rising up against data centers — and winningBillionaires want data centers everywhere, including spaceAI’s water and electricity use soars in 2025Racks of AI chips are too damn heavyThe scramble to launch data centers into space is heating upData center construction moratorium is gaining steamData centers in Oregon might be helping to drive an increase in cancer and miscarriagesGoogle is turning on the gas for its data centersTech companies ‘be on alert,’ NAACP says with new guiding principles for data centers