Johns Hopkins gets $9 million for new data center

Johns Hopkins University has received approval to move forward with a 25,000-square-foot data science and computer center in East Baltimore, with the Maryland Board of Public Works granting a $9 million allocation without discussion. The expansion of the Maryland Advanced Research Computing Center at the Bayview campus, which opened in 2015, is intended to support life sciences, biomedical research, data science, and AI, while also incorporating advanced cooling technology for sustainability. This development comes as the Baltimore City Council is actively debating a proposed one-year moratorium on new data centers consuming more than 10 megawatts of electricity. City Council President Zeke Cohen introduced the bill on March 23, with 11 of 15 council members as co-sponsors, aiming to allow time to study the impacts and establish conditional use standards for data centers within city limits. Although JHU's project is expected to be under the 10-megawatt threshold, the broader city and state are grappling with the implications of increased data center development. Maryland itself is undertaking a study on the financial and environmental impacts of data centers, with a final report due by September 1, a measure that initially faced a gubernatorial veto but was overridden by state lawmakers.