UTC holds panel with data center experts to share impacts with the community
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hosted a panel on how data centers operate and their potential effects on energy use, infrastructure, jobs and local communities. Officials said large facilities can require city-scale amounts of power, while a Google data center in Jackson County, Alabama, has generated jobs and substantial tax revenue.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga held a community panel featuring Jared Mitchum, the Tennessee Valley Authority's principal for strategy and energy initiatives; Ryan Keel, president of energy and communications at EPB; and Nathan Lee, president and CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority in Alabama. The discussion addressed data center operations, electricity demand, infrastructure costs and concerns raised by residents, including noise, limited permanent employment and higher utility bills.
Mitchum said most data center customers served by the TVA are cryptocurrency-mining operations and noted that future projects could require up to 1,000 megawatts, along with hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in supporting infrastructure. Lee said Google's Jackson County facility has become the county's largest tax base and supports direct and indirect jobs, contractors and millions of dollars in annual school-system revenue. Mitchum added that electricity prices are expected to rise regardless of data center development, with no direct impact on Chattanooga's current rates attributed to the facilities.