What do data centers have in common with oil and gas?
A California State University, Fullerton researcher compares data center development with oil and gas infrastructure, emphasizing that electricity and water demands create local environmental costs while benefits are distributed broadly. Using a Tucson-area example, he describes fragmented approval processes in which the city opposed or restricted the project, the county sold land, and the Arizona Corporation Commission approved its power access.
David Adams, an associate professor of public administration at California State University, Fullerton, says data centers resemble oil and gas infrastructure because they deliver broad economic and technological benefits while concentrating environmental and resource costs in host communities. He estimates that thousands of data center buildings are operating, proposed or under construction in the United States, with large campuses potentially consuming as much electricity as a small city and significant amounts of water for cooling.
Adams points to a Tucson case involving a developer whose customer was Amazon Web Services as an example of fragmented governance. After the city would not provide water, the project was redesigned for air cooling, while the Arizona Corporation Commission approved access to electricity despite public picketing and a city council vote against the project. He also discusses California legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom requiring data centers to fund grid upgrades, secure long-term power obligations and report water use and drought planning to local governments and water suppliers.