Data centres: the use of agricultural land is on the rise, from the United States to Europe

The USDA, the US Department of Agriculture, announced a few days ago a record loan of $3.3 billion to Oglethorpe Power Corporation for the construction of a new power station in Monroe County, Georgia. This is the largest loan ever granted through the Rural Utilities Service, the federal programme designed to support the development of essential infrastructure in rural communities. “The new energy capacity,” explained Glen Smith, the USDA’s Under-Secretary for Rural Development, in an interview with Reuters, “will support Georgia’s industrial development, including potentially the growth of facilities and infrastructure dedicated to data processing and storage.”

The issue of data centres is becoming particularly significant in rural areas, which are increasingly affected by the search for large tracts of land. Whilst, on the one hand, the combination of these developments – including power stations, electricity grids and data centres – can attract investment and boost economic development in the areas concerned, on the other hand, some local communities are expressing concern about the impact on their local areas. And the expansion of data centres is now being assessed not only in terms of energy and water consumption, but also in terms of the loss of agricultural land, which, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation – one of the largest agricultural organisations in the US – tends to be permanent in nature.

An analysis by the Washington Post of 93 large US data centres has traced the previous land use, revealing that around a third of the sites were formerly agricultural land. The World Resources Institute also reports that in 2024, the average US data centre site covered around 224 acres – equivalent to over 90 hectares – with the largest hyperscale campuses capable of exceeding 1,000 acres (more than 400 hectares). Empirical analyses also show that the availability of large tracts of land at relatively low cost, combined with proximity to electricity infrastructure, makes rural areas particularly attractive for new developments.

It should be noted that the issue of the environmental footprint of data centres is becoming increasingly important in Europe too, where various local authorities are seeking to channel new installations towards brownfield sites, thereby limiting their establishment on agricultural land.

In Italia, the Lombardy Region passed a specific law in June 2026 which, amongst its site selection criteria, gives priority to brownfield sites, derelict areas, disused quarries and mines, and urban regeneration areas. The Region is also considering further restrictions to limit the consumption of agricultural land, which is already discouraged by a doubling of building charges where agricultural land is used and by a 200 per cent surcharge in protected or particularly sensitive areas.