Letters to the Editor: Comparing data centers and ethanol plants
An opinion piece in the Cherokee Chronicle compares the water and energy usage of proposed data centers with existing ethanol plants in Iowa. It uses Meta's hyperscale data center in Altoona as an example to show that ethanol plants, like the Little Sioux Corn Processor, consume significantly more resources. The author urges readers to scrutinize ethanol plants and the Summit pipeline with the same intensity as data centers.
An opinion piece published in the Cherokee Chronicle highlights concerns over the water and energy consumption of proposed data centers in Iowa. The author, Elizabeth Johnson, a Voting Delegate for the Cherokee County Farm Bureau, draws a comparison with ethanol plants, arguing they have historically faced less scrutiny despite higher resource demands.
The article uses Meta's hyperscale data center in Altoona as a benchmark, noting its annual water usage of 53 million gallons. In contrast, the Little Sioux Corn Processor ethanol plant in Marcus is reported to use 543 million gallons per year, which could increase to 716 million gallons if connected to the Summit pipeline for CO2 cooling. Regarding electricity, the Meta data center consumes enough power for 284,000 people annually, while the Little Sioux plant uses enough for 48,000 people.
Johnson argues that if residents are concerned about data center resource use, they should be equally concerned about ethanol plants and projects like the Summit pipeline, which has sought and received eminent domain for its phases. The author urges greater public scrutiny for these agricultural industrial operations, drawing parallels to the concerns surrounding data center development.