Five things to know as data centers spread across rural America
Data centers consume vast amounts of water for cooling, especially AI-focused facilities, raising concerns about environmental impact due to a lack of transparency in water discharge practices. Their rapid expansion into rural areas is fueling rezoning battles, as communities grapple with industrialization, rising electricity costs, and regulatory gaps.
Data centers, crucial for digital information processing, are spreading across rural America, raising five key concerns. Firstly, these facilities, particularly hyperscale data centers for AI, consume enormous amounts of water for cooling. Google's data center in Pryor, Oklahoma, for instance, uses about 1.1 billion gallons annually, primarily lost to evaporation, prompting the industry to explore more water-efficient closed-loop or air-cooled systems.
Secondly, there's a significant lack of transparency and research regarding the environmental impact of water discharge from data centers. Companies often do not disclose the volume, destination, or chemical content of their discharged water, making it difficult to assess potential effects on rivers, groundwater, and wastewater systems.
Thirdly, rezoning battles are increasingly common as rural communities oppose data center projects. Residents organize against what they perceive as industrial developments offering few local benefits, often successfully pressuring local governments to reject rezoning requests from agricultural to industrial use. The Beltline data center project in Yukon and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is cited as an example awaiting such approval.
Fourthly, most new data center projects are planned for rural areas, with two-thirds of the 1,500 planned facilities slated for these communities, contrasting sharply with the urban concentration of existing data centers. Rural residents express high concern over rising electricity costs, the conversion of agricultural land, and excessive water use.
Finally, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence technology and its associated infrastructure is outpacing regulations. Companies often exploit regulatory gaps or bypass traditional permitting processes, as seen in Oklahoma where data centers avoid water permits by buying from municipal utilities, and xAI in Memphis, Tennessee, which installed natural gas turbines for power without first obtaining air permits.