Paris Marx says US data center fights echo debates abroad

In short: Opposition to new data centers in the US is growing, and author Paris Marx says other countries offer clear lessons about power, water, and local control.

What's going on

Data centers are large buildings full of computers that store and process data. They are a key part of online services and many new AI tools. Marx, a longtime tech critic and the author of a new book called Hyperscale, told Wired that communities around the world have been dealing with data center growth for years.

He pointed to the Netherlands and Singapore, which introduced moratoriums in 2019, meaning temporary pauses on new data centers. In Ireland, Dublin put limits in place in 2021 after the grid operator said there was not enough room on the electricity network to connect more sites. Marx said companies then looked outside Dublin and explored other ways to power centers, including using gas generators and even building dedicated gas power plants.

Marx also cited a US example in The Dalles, Oregon. He said Google tried to keep its local water use secret for months, and that the numbers later showed Google used 29 percent of the community’s water.

What to watch

Marx argued that the push for more AI could be a bubble, meaning demand might cool after a rush of spending. If that happens, some planned data centers might not get built, but gas power plants could still be completed and then look for other customers. He said governments may need clearer rules for both data center construction and the AI products that drive demand, so communities are not left paying the long-term costs.

Source: Wired