🖥️ Data Centers & Community Power
What data centers are, why communities are debating them, and what residents can do when one is proposed nearby.
Data centers are physical buildings filled with computer servers that store, process, and transmit digital information. Websites, cloud storage, streaming, banking, AI systems, government systems, and countless other technologies depend on them.
They are necessary infrastructure for the modern internet.
But very large data centers can also require substantial amounts of electricity, land, water, utility infrastructure, and public investment. That means their construction isn't only a technology issue.
It's a community planning issue.
Why are communities concerned?
A proposed data center can raise questions about:
💧 Water use
⚡ Electricity demand
🌳 Land development
🔊 Noise
🏗️ Construction
💰 Tax incentives
🏘️ Nearby neighborhoods
🌎 Environmental impacts
💼 Permanent jobs
💡 Utility infrastructure
📈 Electricity costs and grid planning
Not every data center creates the same impacts.
The important question is:
What is being proposed here, and what will it mean for this community?
⚡ Data centers use a lot of electricity
Data centers collectively consumed about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023, according to a U.S. Department of Energy-supported report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers projected their share could rise to roughly 6.7–12% by 2028, depending on future growth.
That growth is being driven partly by AI and other increasingly computationally intensive technologies.
U.S. Department of Energy — Data Centers
This doesn't mean every data center threatens the electrical grid.
It means communities should ask:
How much electricity will this facility require?
Where will that electricity come from?
Does new transmission or generation infrastructure need to be built?
Who pays for those upgrades?
Could residential customers be affected?
💧 What about water?
Some data centers use water for cooling.
The amount varies dramatically depending on the facility, cooling technology, climate, operating conditions, and electricity source.
That makes statements like “every data center uses millions of gallons of water” too simplistic.
Instead, ask the developer for the actual project numbers:
What cooling system will be used?
What is the projected daily and annual water consumption?
Will potable drinking water be used?
Where will the water come from?
Will reclaimed water be used?
What happens during drought conditions?
🌳 Land matters too
Large developments can change:
Tree canopy
Wildlife habitat
Stormwater runoff
Traffic patterns
Noise
Nearby property use
Local infrastructure
Before construction occurs, residents should look at what currently occupies the site, not just what the developer intends to build.
Ask:
Is this already-developed industrial land?
Is forest being cleared?
Are streams or wetlands nearby?
How much impervious surface will be added?
What stormwater protections are required?
💰 What does the community get in return?
Developers often emphasize economic benefits.
Those benefits should be measured rather than assumed.
Ask:
How many construction jobs will be created?
How many permanent jobs?
What will those jobs pay?
How much local tax revenue is expected?
What tax abatements or incentives are being offered?
How much public infrastructure will be required?
Who pays for it?
A project can generate tax revenue while also receiving substantial incentives.
Both numbers matter.
🏛️ Who actually approves a data center?
Usually, several decisions happen before construction.
Depending on the community, these can involve:
Planning commission → zoning authority → city/county government → utilities → environmental permitting → building permits
A project may require:
Rezoning
Special-use permits
Variances
Utility agreements
Environmental permits
Development agreements
Tax incentives
This creates multiple opportunities for public participation.
🚨 A data center was proposed near me. What should I do?
First, find the actual proposal.
Don't rely only on social media posts or developer announcements.
Search for:
Development application
Parcel number
Site plan
Rezoning request
Special-use permit
Planning documents
Environmental studies
Utility agreements
Tax incentive agreements
Then determine what government decision still needs to happen.
That is much more important than simply knowing construction is proposed.
🔎 Find the decision point
Ask:
Has zoning already been approved?
Is a planning commission hearing scheduled?
Does city council have to vote?
Are tax incentives still being considered?
Are environmental permits pending?
Has the utility agreement been finalized?
Then find the date.
The goal is to participate before the decision—not discover it afterward.
📄 Get the records
Request or locate:
📄 Development application
🗺️ Site plans
💧 Water projections
⚡ Electricity projections
🌳 Environmental studies
💰 Tax incentives
🏗️ Infrastructure agreements
📊 Economic-impact studies
📧 Government communications where publicly available
📝 Staff recommendations
📅 Hearing schedules
Public records can turn a vague political argument into a concrete discussion about an actual project.
🤝 Build a coalition
People may have very different reasons for caring.
Potential partners include:
🌳 Environmental organizations
🏘️ Neighborhood associations
💧 Watershed organizations
⚡ Energy experts
🎓 University researchers
🏪 Local businesses
🧑⚕️ Public-health advocates
🏛️ Civic organizations
📰 Local journalists
👥 Nearby residents
You don't need everyone to agree about technology or AI.
You need agreement about what should happen with this particular development.
🎯 Decide what you're asking for
Opposition is more effective when government officials know what residents actually want.
Possible requests include:
Reject the proposal.
Move the project to an existing industrial area.
Require additional environmental review.
Protect specific forest or watershed areas.
Require reclaimed-water cooling.
Limit potable-water consumption.
Require renewable or lower-carbon energy commitments.
Require noise protections.
Require the developer to pay infrastructure costs.
Renegotiate tax incentives.
Require community-benefit agreements.
Pause approval until missing information is provided.
Different projects justify different responses.
📊 Make the developer show the numbers
Ask for a simple public accounting:
Community Question- Project Answer
Land required: ___ acres
Trees/forest removed___
Electricity demand___
MWAnnual water use___
Permanent jobs___
Average wages___
Tax revenue$___
Tax incentives$___
Public infrastructure cost$___
Expected operating life___
If those numbers aren't available:
Ask why the project is being approved before the community has them.
🎤 Use public comment strategically
Instead of ten people repeating the same speech, divide the research.
One resident explains the water issue.
Another explains electricity.
Another examines tax incentives.
Another covers environmental impacts.
Another analyzes jobs and economic benefits.
Another presents the alternative proposal.
Then everyone returns to the same request:
“We are asking the council to ______.”
✉️ Contact your representatives
Keep the message short.
Subject: Request Regarding Proposed Data Center
Hello,
I'm a resident concerned about the proposed data center at [LOCATION/PROJECT].
Before approval, I'm asking the city/county to publicly disclose and evaluate the project's electricity demand, water use, environmental impacts, permanent employment, tax incentives, infrastructure costs, and effects on surrounding communities.
I am specifically asking that [YOUR REQUEST].
Please let me know your position and when this project will next appear before a public body.
Thank you.
🪧 If you want to oppose the project
Use the democratic process strategically:
Research → Public records → Coalition → Specific demand → Public comment → Media → Representatives → Vote
Residents can organize:
Petitions, public meetings, educational events, coalition letters, peaceful demonstrations, expert testimony, public-records campaigns, neighborhood meetings, candidate questions, and voter education.
Focus your campaign on the government decision that controls the project.
⭐ The most important strategy
Don't organize around:
“Data centers are bad.”
Organize around:
“This project, in this location, creates these documented costs, and we're asking this government body to take this specific action.”
That's considerably harder for decision-makers to dismiss.
🌱 Data centers aren't automatically the enemy
PTC doesn't need an anti-technology position.
Data centers support infrastructure society increasingly relies on.
The question is whether they are developed:
in appropriate locations,
with transparent resource demands,
without unnecessarily destroying valuable ecosystems,
without shifting unreasonable infrastructure costs onto residents,
with meaningful community oversight,
and with benefits proportionate to their impacts.
Development should serve communities—not simply happen to them.
📚 Learn More
U.S. Department of Energy — Data Centers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Your local government
Search:
“[CITY/COUNTY] planning commission”
“[CITY/COUNTY] zoning cases”
“[CITY/COUNTY] meeting agendas”
Those local records are often the most important sources on a proposed project.
🤝 Protect the Collective
PTC's position isn't:
Stop technology.
It's:
Communities should have meaningful power over development that affects their land, resources, infrastructure, finances, and future.
Know what's proposed.
Find the evidence.
Find who has the power.
Get involved before the decision.
Build locally. Learn collectively. Share widely.