Big Backlash Against AI Data Centers
At some point, AI data centers were going to cause a revolt among some of the residents in areas in which they were being built or had been built. Among the reasons were higher electricity rates as centers competed with residents for local supply. The centers also use extraordinary amounts of water. And it is not entirely clear what they do to improve the “neighborhood.” Their owners, some of the richest companies in the world, were not good neighbors in many cases, even if they added a few local jobs and increased the tax base.
There are dozens of examples of friction between data centers and local businesses and residents. A new data center, which will be operated by Microsoft, will use as many as eight million gallons of Lake Michigan water a year. Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company would spend $4 billion on a new complex. Smith’s comments to the locals were, “If you stick with us, we’re sticking with you.”
What does sticking mean? In other parts of the country, this has become clearer. In Virginia, 25% of all electricity generated goes to data centers. Other states are well into the double digits. As data centers grow, so will that fraction. There is not enough electricity to go around in some parts of the US. That will cause a clash with people who worry their bills will continue to rise.
Higher Tax Base
The data center electricity use problem has become a political one. In some local and state elections, politicians have already said they will be vigilant about electricity prices. But they are up against some of the world’s largest, most valuable, and powerful companies. Among them, they plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers this year.
The demand for AI software is rising at an unbelievable rate. No mega-tech company can afford to be left behind is what is shaping up to be the world’s largest tech foot race.
It is too early to say whether local residents have a chance to win against such an onslaught.
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