Report: Data Centers Threaten OR's Climate Goals

Environmental group calls for more regulation and transparency around energy and water use.

Mar. 16, 2026 at 6:02am

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A new report from the environmental advocacy group Columbia Riverkeeper has found that the rapid expansion of data centers in Washington and Oregon is threatening the region's shift to renewable energy. The report identified over 100 data centers either completed or in progress across 12 counties bordering the Columbia River, and warned that power demand is expected to soar as a result, forcing tech companies to turn to fossil fuels to provide power.

Why it matters

The report argues that the growth of data centers is undermining the region's efforts to meet its climate goals, as the centers are contributing to increased fossil fuel use. The report calls on state leaders to impose more regulations on the data centers, including transparency around water and energy use, and a ban on fossil fuels and new nuclear.

The details

The report found that tech companies are keeping details about their data centers hidden, making it difficult for the public to know basic facts like how many data centers there are, where they are located, and how much energy and water they use. The report also noted that a failed bill in Washington state this year would have regulated data centers and imposed transparency measures, but that operators like Microsoft and Amazon fought hard against it.

  • The report was released on March 16, 2026.

The players

Columbia Riverkeeper

An environmental advocacy group that released the report on the impact of data centers in Washington and Oregon.

Kelly Campbell

The policy director for Columbia Riverkeeper, who was quoted in the report.

The Dalles

A city in Oregon where Google has a data center, and where the city and Google had to be sued by The Oregonian newspaper to find out how much water the data center was using.

Microsoft

A tech company that operates data centers in the region and fought against a bill in Washington state that would have regulated data centers and imposed transparency measures.

Amazon

A tech company that operates data centers in the region and fought against a bill in Washington state that would have regulated data centers and imposed transparency measures.

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What they’re saying

“We're looking at having to put together four new Seattle's worth of energy in order to power all these data centers. My question would be, why? We shouldn't be going back to using more fossil fuels to power data centers.”

— Kelly Campbell, Policy Director, Columbia Riverkeeper

“Our researchers had a hard time even finding basic facts. How many data centers there are, where are they located? How much energy do they use? How much water do they use?”

— Kelly Campbell, Policy Director, Columbia Riverkeeper

What’s next

The report calls for state leaders in Oregon and Washington to impose more regulations on data centers, including transparency around water and energy use, and a ban on fossil fuels and new nuclear. The report also calls for tech companies to be responsible for developing new renewable energy to supply the data centers.

The takeaway

The rapid expansion of data centers in the Pacific Northwest is undermining the region's efforts to transition to renewable energy and meet its climate goals. Greater transparency and regulation of these data centers is needed to ensure they are not contributing to increased fossil fuel use and environmental damage.