Though I am a far cry from being an ‘early adopter’ or ‘technology influencer,’ I am also not a Luddite or someone who generally fears or holds the latest/greatest technological innovation in contempt. I am fond though of a favorite Mark Twain quote: “I’m all for Progress. It’s the damn change that I am against.”
Data Centers, fast on their way to becoming the latest societal scourge, are not new. Their purpose and proliferation are rapidly evolving, but Cisco, Amazon, Meta, Google and others have been leasing and selling computing storage and data capacity for nearing two decades. Those centers are where the “Cloud“ is located. Demand for more computing capacity and storage is being driven by the development of A.I., increasing 5G adoption, as well as visual content streaming of nearly every kind, all of which consume significant storage space and bandwidth.
The Data Centers keep getting larger, and admittedly their demand for electrical power and fresh water supply do concern me. At Stanton Springs near Rutledge, Georgia, some area residents have been fighting the location and development of a Rivian Automotive Plant. Though Rivian will bring billions in investment, several thousand jobs and other benefits to the region, activists in opposition have been pushing back primarily on environmental and quality of life concerns. Meanwhile, humming quietly nearby, Meta owns and operates a couple of massive data centers. The first was labeled and used primarily by Facebook, the second and newer data center exists quietly without signage, but is also owned by Meta.
On the plus side of the ledger, though that list may be short, Data Centers do generate MASSIVE property tax payments and revenue to the host local government—or, in the case of Stanton Springs, three counties and one combined and well managed industrial authority.
Muddying the waters?
Earlier this year, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), brandished Mason Jars of muddy, polluted water, sent to her by residents of Rutledge, Georgia and Morgan County, freshly drawn from what had previously been their pristine wells. The Meta centers are alledgedy thirstily drawing down the underground aquifers from which those local residential and farm wells draw their drinking water.
Some large tech players like Google and Alphabet are going further, on their own initiative, with an effort by 2030 to introduce or treat more potable water into regions where their data centers draw out. These efforts are to be commended and will hopefully be replicated, if not later regulated. President Donald Trump recently announced that he is a large-scale supporter of data centers. I am not sure how much that will move the needle in exurban and rural areas now viewed as “Trump Country,” but buried in last year’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill” is a provision preventing states from regulating A.I. development. We may see soon if the feds attempt to ‘trump’ any state efforts to slow the sprawl and siting of Data Centers at the county and municipal level before too many aquifers are irreversibly impacted.
Though I am an only occasional user of AI, I have witnessed some of its marvels and benefits, besides providing college and even high school students whole new ways to cheat on their term papers. But when I recently read in several different credible publications that our U.S. tech giants are investing approximately $7.0 trillion dollars in their data center expansion and development between now and 2030, I seriously began to question their math, much less than desire for an eventual return on investment (https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-7-trillion-dollar-data-center-build-out-how-industrials-can-capture-their-share)
The entire U.S. federal budget for fiscal year 2026 totals roughly $6.9 trillion. With an active war underway with Iran, and mission support in multiple places around the globe, our U.S. Defense Budget is $1.5 trillion.
Return on investment, for the public or for private enterprises?
At that spending pace I can see chip-maker Nvidia’s profitability, but the picture is a lot foggier if those tech giants are building out capacity that we may not ever actually need. And what about the possibility of a takedown of our reasonably vulnerable power grid, or the use of EMF weapons, which permanently fry the circuitry of anything electronic, from your phone and laptop to any data center within range or your automobile’s computer operating system… It seems like an insanely big bet on technology still unproven simply for fear of being beaten by the Chinese.
But more practically, private sector enterprises and their shareholders can place bad bets, with their capital and let the marketplace shake things out… Only they are not doing that alone. Georgia Power, a well managed utility and largest operating division of the Southern Company, is investing billions in new power generation and its transmission network, as well as assisting in the build out of data centers, who are about to become several of their largest customers.
During the electrification of the south, and dvelopment of transmission networks and our power grid, a strong argument could be made for locating power transmission lines with the most efficient and cost effective routing, and occasionally using the force and power of eminent domain to buy out or relocate private property owners in the way of those transmission power lines, power plants and sub-stations.
But a Data Center is NOT a “public benefit or amenity.” It is a data and profit center for a for-profit enterprise. I have been shocked to learn recently of a new 35-mile transmission line project, almost alongside other existing utility right of way, which crosses through four counties through west Georgia to a Data Center site location in Coweta County, which is directly impacting more than 330 property owners, and requiring the relocation and even demolition of dozens of homes and farms, many of which have been multi-generational properties.
Where is the Georgia Power that I know so well?
The Georgia Power that I know quite well has long been a good corporate citizen, but even if the buy-out offers are above market, they should NOT be allowed to use eminent domain—a last resort tool of government–while simultaneously clinging to ‘client anonymity’ on the owners of the planned Data Center.
I support and tip my hat to the ongoing efforts of Ansley Brown, a young mother, wife and resident of Grantville, Georgia (https://www.facebook.com/ansley.hunter.3). Ms. Brown has been loudly and directly pushing back on the Georgia Power transmission project, garnering a following of more than 1 million on social media, thousands of area resident petition signatures and organizing numerous community events across the region to slow or pause the project. Ms. Brown’s initial involvement was spurred by the proposed loss of her childhood home and her mother’s current home. While that residence and many others on that quiet street have now reached an agreement to sell to Georgia Power, hundreds of properties are still yet to be taken and thousands more will become front row seat ‘neighbors’ to this new massive transmission line system, as well as likely, eventually a Data Center.
The incredible amount of computing power in these more behemoth structures can be heard as a loud, 24-hour electric hum surrounding the centers. And while consuming massive amounts of electricity to run those computers as well as the required A/C, these buildings put a lot of heat into the atmosphere. I wasn’t too concerned about the cows passing gas in a dairy or cattle farm, but a few hundred thousand PC racks put off a lot more heat.
The space race paid dividends, but some took decades
I am reminded of the Space Race, which took place on a much smaller scale, but delivered incredible societal benefits from miniaturization and transistors and early computer chips, to the knowledge we gained in being able to view our planet from space and the many satellites which now surround us providing a wide array of services. I am not a tech giant or a futurist who solely sees a despotic future ahead of us, but I can see about a dozen different ways that these investments could go south, or that water tables of finite nature could be permanently damaged by forever chemical waste. Slowing down this literal artificial brain train seems only common sense.
A closed data center, or one without power or water for cooling is a real possibility. At that point, revenue stops and vital resources are gone. We should thoughtfully consider requiring onsite power generation, using technology such as small scale nuclear, and looking at cooling technologies, such as underwater encasement and even geothermal versus the use of conventional air conditioning and its massive drain on power generation. And with this level of investment, it also doesn’t require a financial analyst to see the bubble building as the return on this level of investment may take decades to recover…if ever. If killing thousands of jobs and industries is a side benefit, who will be able to buy all of the new services and amenities which A.I. supposedly brings? Too many big unanswered questions. Let’s hit the pause button.
