Data Centers: The critical infrastructure some don’t want, but everyone needs

“The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape,” blared a Washington Post headline this week, reinforcing the reality that data centers have rocketed to the top of media and policymaking focus. 

In recent months, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pressed for a national moratorium on data center construction; Secretary of Energy Chris Wright warned data center developers that they’re losing the narrative; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for an AI “bill of rights” targeting data centers.

What exactly are data centers, why have they become so controversial, and what comes next? We’ll cut through the clutter and tell you what you need to know. Thanks for reading.

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Data centers facilitate just about everything that happens digitally: Whenever you Google something, watch Netflix, FaceTime a loved one, store photos, or pay your bills online, you’re using a data center. Even opening this email requires a data center. 

Physically, a data center is nothing more than a few large buildings full of powerful computers that store data and run applications. Just like roadways facilitate physical transportation, data centers facilitate digital consumption. Data centers, like roads, aren’t driving habits and technology: They exist because of habits and technology.

Unfortunately for those who oppose data centers, the volume of digital information – of data – is increasing exponentially. A 2011 paper in Science reported this fact: “The total amount of information [in the world] grew from 2.6 exabytes in 1986… to 295 in 2007.” This paper made international news: 295 exabytes was a lot!

Fast-forward to today. More data was generated in the past 24 hours than the world’s entire data capacity in 2007. The trend will likely accelerate, not slow down, because AI and large language models require so much data processing.

For better or worse, our economy relies on immediate data processing and vast digital storage – and so does our defense capability. Satellites generate unfathomable amounts of imagery and data, drones stream live video, electronic intelligence captures massive datasets, and that’s but the tip of the iceberg. Predictive analytics, troop movement tracking, logistics networks, missile defense systems – all of it requires data, which means all of it requires data centers. There’s a reason northern Virginia is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world.

All of that – the economy, consumer habits, the military – is why data centers exist, and why more of them are being built every day. They also produce huge tax revenue for counties that accept them. One data center under consideration in Stokes County, for example, is projected to increase the county’s annual revenue by between 30% and 50%.

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Data centers have been going up all over the place for the past 30 years (there are about 100 in North Carolina), yet they’re just now attracting attention. Why?

One, they’re getting bigger. That’s in part because of the exponential increase in data usage, a trend that is likely to accelerate because of AI.

Two, they’re something of a collision point for so many different debates happening in our society right now: power generation, big tech, rapid technological changes, and the urban/rural divide.

Data centers are largely automated – the biggest might employ 500 people. They don’t produce tangible goods, and they’re not the blue-collar factories of the 20th century. They’re cathedrals to a new world, one in which robots displace humans, streaming services replace books, and everything changes at warp speed. No wonder they induce unease.

Data centers also require vast amounts of power. They’re not the only factors upping demand for energy, but they’re certainly part of the equation. And years of handwringing over expanding our country’s energy supply means, well, our country’s energy supply hasn’t kept pace. America’s power generation capacity increased by 15% since 2015; China’s increased by 146%. Had our country’s power supply increased more, costs wouldn’t be nearly the issue they are right now.

The net result is rising power bills everywhere. And the easiest scapegoats are the vast, faceless computer buildings owned by big tech. 

Add it all up, and data centers are ripe targets for community pushback. That pushback has been swift, and it’s been aided by well-financed environmental activist groups that are swooping into rural communities to rally opposition. Organizations like the Sierra Club have published glossy toolkits to train residents how to oppose data centers. They assert everything from data centers consume huge quantities of water (which isn’t true for those that use closed-loop cooling systems) to fire trucks not being able to extinguish the flames if they catch on fire, to … data centers will kill people. 

Last month, 26 state attorneys general asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Chinese influence and funding of environmental activist groups. 

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For the moment, data centers present an intractable problem. The economy cannot function, much less grow, without them. They produce huge tax revenue for strained county budgets, but people do not want to live near them, and neighbors have threatened the careers of local elected officials who back them. The fire is likely to intensify as political groups recognize the grassroots power of the issue and capitalize on it during campaign season.

So what is the endgame? The world is not going to stop generating and consuming data. It is untenable to both rely on data and refuse to build data centers. Yet that is precisely the direction the political mood is heading as politicians react to activist sentiment, whether it be organic or mobilized through special interest groups. 

Something has to give.