Kansas Municipal Utilities hosts “educational” data center summit amid protest outside
A data center summit hosted by Kansas Municipal Utilities in Topeka was met with protests from community members concerned about the environmental and electrical impact of data centers. Protestors are advocating for new regulations to protect Kansas from hyperscale data center development, particularly in rural and unzoned areas. The summit aimed to educate local officials and utility members on data center planning and integration.
A data center summit, "Powering Growth Responsibly," hosted by Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU) in Topeka, Kansas, drew protests from local community members. The closed-door summit, held on July 15-16 at Topeka's Docking Building, aimed to educate KMU members, elected officials, and bureaucratic representatives on data centers, including their energy, water, and land use needs. KMU Deputy Director Greg DuMars stated the summit was designed to arm attendees with information to make informed decisions for their communities, emphasizing that decisions are best made at the local level.
Outside the building, members of the 'No Data Centers in Kansas' group protested, voicing concerns that the information conveyed at the summit might be biased or incomplete. Protestor Mike Engeman highlighted environmental and electrical impacts, even from systems using closed-loop water. He also criticized developers for targeting rural, unzoned farm areas close to schools and hospitals, rather than commercially zoned land. The group's primary objective is to push for regulations to protect Kansas from hyperscale data centers. Despite their strong message, Engeman described the protestors as a polite group, engaging with legislators and county commissioners to ensure their concerns are heard.