Data center building boom stirs pushback in state and local politics

4 days ago 7

Greg Pirio bought his location successful the bluish Virginia suburbs much than a twelve years ago, ne'er imagining a monolithic information halfway would beryllium his neighbor.

It's 1 of astir 200 specified facilities successful Loudoun County, considered the information halfway superior of the world.

President Trump has signed enforcement enactment to fast-track national information halfway permitting and effort to bounds regulations successful an effort to bolster infrastructure successful the AI race.

"There's lone going to beryllium 1 victor here, and that's astir apt going to beryllium the U.S. oregon China," Mr. Trump said arsenic helium signed an enforcement bid successful December aimed astatine limiting AI regulations astatine the authorities level.

"We person the large concern coming, but if they had to get 50 antithetic approvals from 50 antithetic states, you tin hide it, due to the fact that it's not imaginable to do, particularly if you person immoderate hostile. All you request is 1 hostile histrion and you wouldn't beryllium capable to bash it. So it doesn't marque sense," the president said.

Pirio compares the data center construction boom to a 2nd Industrial Revolution, but helium says it's not without impacts to neighboring homeowners. He and his assemblage person concerns astir changeless sound from the center, aerial contamination from an on-site powerfulness works and rising energy costs.

Long-term, helium worries astir spot values.

"Like truthful galore different radical successful the country, you know, that's wherever our savings are, wherever we person our generational wealth," helium said.

It's an contented that John McAuliff believes helped him get elected to the authorities House past fall, representing parts of Fauquier and Loudoun counties. He flipped the spot from Republican to Democratic.

"Folks are waking up," said McAuliffe. "I deliberation that it is thing that if you person these successful your community, you're starting to recognize the impacts."

He says it emerged arsenic a apical contented for voters helium talked to portion door-knocking successful neighborhoods, and helium made it a salient contented successful his run ads.

As a recently sworn-in delegate, McAuliffe is present pushing for authorities aimed astatine making definite residents don't ft the measure for energy costs.

"I deliberation it's an important industry. I'm not saying they should each get retired and leave, but I americium saying that if you're going to travel into a assemblage and you're going to instrumentality resources retired of that community, past you person to beryllium consenting to springiness backmost to that community," helium said.

He besides has projected bills to code zoning and biology concerns stemming from the information centers' backup generators connected site.

Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition, which advocates for the industry, says the manufacture is committed to covering its costs and moving to mitigate assemblage impacts.

"The information halfway manufacture is committed to being a liable partner," said Diorio.

He besides points to important assemblage benefits from occupation instauration and section gross raised. Loudoun County describes the manufacture arsenic an important portion of the section economy, generating astir fractional of the county's spot taxation revenues.

Diorio besides argues the request isn't going away.

"Digital infrastructure is the backbone of the 21st period economy. Increasingly, it is an indispensable portion of ensuring the United States' planetary economical competitiveness," helium said. "It's a nationalist information imperative. This is each of our data. We privation it stored here."

The U.S. Census Bureau says information halfway operation spending accrued implicit 55% betwixt 2023 and 2024. The apical states for that spending see Louisiana, Virginia, Mississippi, Texas and Arizona, according to ConstructConnect.

However, galore of those surviving closest to the contented are pleading for much oversight.

"Let's dilatory things down truthful that we tin bash it successful a mode that's gonna assistance communities, not harm them," said Pirio.

In: