Resistance to data centres is arising in India too: It’s time for policy to address people’s concerns

None of this is to suggest that protestors in Thane are wrong to worry. The environmental cost of AI should not be calculated on a per-prompt basis, but must instead be evaluated in terms of where each data centre is built, what powers it, and who it is going to affect because they live next door to it. In Ireland, since hyperscalers were allowed to cluster around Dublin, 23% of its electricity now goes to data centres.