Froma Harrop: Big tech’s ugly data centers finally meet the opposition

Froma Harrop, a syndicated columnist, sheds light on the growing opposition to large data center developments in rural American communities, using a proposed Amazon Web Services project in Wilmington, Ohio, as a prime example. The article details how residents in this "very Republican region marked by modest incomes" are resisting Amazon's plan for a nine-building, 2-million-square-foot data center on 500 acres of former farmland, despite economic promises like 100 full-time jobs and $35 million in public infrastructure improvements. Harrop suggests that these rural populations, valuing their peaceful way of life, are becoming less susceptible to the allure of economic development presented by tech companies seeking cheap land and tax incentives. The column highlights that this local pushback is part of a national trend, with concerns often revolving around quality of life, environmental impact, and the substantial energy demands of data centers that could potentially raise local electricity rates. The piece also points to legislative efforts by other states, noting that Wisconsin voters have passed local ballot measures to gain more control over incentives offered to developers, and Maine has enacted a law to halt large data center construction for over a year. Harrop critiques the perceived imbalance where super-rich tech entities propose developments in economically struggling areas without substantial benefits, contrasting this with the low-density living environments preferred by executives like Jeff Bezos.