US Pension Fund Reviews AI-Related Data Center Investment Risks

The Ohio School Employees Retirement System is reviewing its investment portfolio to assess the potential risks of investing in data centers for AI infrastructure. The system is concerned about the complexity and high costs of building data centers, which have become a focus of market attention. Three large data center projects in Texas and New Mexico are related to the AI trend, including Oracle’s ‘Project Jupiter’ in Donna Anna County and Meta’s data center in El Paso.

The projects may lead to increased pollution, affecting local climate change reduction targets and increasing pressure on the power grid, leading to higher household energy costs. According to The Cool Down, Oracle and Meta’s two publicly disclosed power plans could generate up to 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, exceeding the combined emissions of El Paso and Hudspeps County in 2019.

The regulatory issues surrounding these large data centers have become complex due to the lack of federal regulations covering climate pollution, making it difficult for nearby communities to influence projects in other states. New Mexico State Representative Sarah Silva has expressed support for pausing data center development, while Oracle has stated its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2031 and has committed to responsible community engagement during the development process.