Data Center Watch
At a last week’s City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Linda Harnist brought to our attention the up and coming issue of Data Centers.
As of early 2026, the rapid expansion of AI-focused “hyperscale” data centers has shifted from a niche industrial trend to a major point of social and political friction. While they are critical for the digital economy, local communities often view them as “resource-extractive” projects that offer minimal local benefits in exchange for significant environmental and financial burdens.
The concerns generally fall into four primary categories:
1. Resource Strain (Power and Water)
- Grid Instability: Data centers consume an immense amount of electricity—a single AI hyperscale facility can use as much power as 100,000 homes. This strains aging power grids, leading to fears of brownouts and the reactivation of fossil-fuel plants to meet demand.
- Rising Utility Bills: In many regions, the cost of upgrading the grid to accommodate these facilities is being passed on to residential consumers. Projections from late 2025 suggest some residents could see their electric bills double over the next decade due to this infrastructure build-out.
- Water Scarcity: Data centers require millions of gallons of water daily for cooling. In drought-prone areas like Arizona and Nevada, communities worry that data centers are “drinking” the local water supply, potentially depleting aquifers and lowering water pressure for residents.
2. Environmental and Health Impacts
- Noise Pollution: The massive cooling fans and backup generators create a constant, low-frequency hum (often measured at 85–90 decibels). Neighbors in places like Northern Virginia describe it as living next to a “perpetually idling jet engine,” leading to sleep deprivation and chronic stress.
- Air Quality: To ensure “five-nines” uptime (99.999%), data centers maintain massive arrays of diesel backup generators. Regular testing of these generators releases nitrogen oxides ($NO_x$) and particulate matter, which are linked to respiratory issues and heart disease in nearby neighborhoods.
3. Economic Disparity
- The “Job Ratio” Issue: Unlike a manufacturing plant of similar size that might employ thousands, a data center the size of several football fields may only require 30 to 50 permanent staff.
- Tax Incentive Backlash: Many states offer massive tax abatements to attract Big Tech. Critics argue these subsidies are “giveaways” to trillion-dollar companies, depriving local schools and infrastructure of revenue while the facilities themselves create very little local economic “spin-off” (like foot traffic for local shops).
4. Land Use and “Techlash”
- Zoning Conflicts: Data centers are often built near residential zones or on former farmland/forests. This leads to the loss of local character and “viewshed” (the visual appeal of a landscape), replaced by windowless, high-security concrete boxes.
- Lack of Transparency: Many developments are negotiated under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), meaning residents only learn about a project after it has already been approved, fueling a sense of democratic exclusion.
You can go to www.datacenterwatch.org for more information.
