GoKawiilCornell study finds residents cover 62% of data center grid upgrade costs
A Cornell-led study published in Nature Energy analyzed four major U.S. power grids from 2020 to 2025 and found data centers paid just 38% ($3.12 billion) of the $8.25 billion in infrastructure costs tied to their growth in 2025, leaving residents to cover the remaining $5.13 billion. Lower-income households faced extra energy costs equal to as much as 28% of their income, while transmission investment overall jumped from $2 billion in 2020 to $34 billion in 2025.