Hermantown residents oppose proposed Google data center
Hermantown residents are actively opposing a proposed Google hyperscale data center, with a recent survey showing 74% disapproval. Local resident Robert Kohlmeier critiques arguments supporting data center development, highlighting concerns about construction noise, environmental impact on pristine land, and transparency issues. He suggests repurposing abandoned mine sites in the Iron Range for such projects instead.
Robert Kohlmeier, a resident of Hermantown, Minnesota, has penned an opinion piece for the Duluth News Tribune, refuting arguments made in a previous column supporting data center development.
Kohlmeier specifically critiques a "National View" column by Paul Steidler of the Lexington Institute, arguing that the history of data centers in Reston, Virginia, is not comparable to the proposed hyperscale data center project in Hermantown. He highlights the distinct differences in scale, potential for massive excavation, prolonged intense construction noise over eight to ten years, and the proximity to residential neighborhoods for the Hermantown project. Kohlmeier asserts that Hermantown residents have strongly voiced their opposition, with a survey indicating 74% do not want the data center on a 278-acre pristine site near their homes.
He challenges the common justifications for data centers, such as construction jobs and increased tax revenues, pointing out that other local projects also provide jobs and that tax revenue could be better generated by reusing abandoned industrial sites, specifically abandoned mine operations on the Mesabi Range. Kohlmeier also raises environmental concerns, emphasizing the importance of natural lakes and trout streams, and criticizes the lack of transparency and non-disclosure agreements encountered when trying to engage with developers and town leaders. He suggests local officials visit Port Washington, Wisconsin, for a more relevant comparison of hyperscale data centers in action.