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

Residents in Wilmington, Ohio, are voicing strong opposition to Amazon Web Services' proposal to construct a nine-building, 2-million-square-foot data center on 500 acres of former farmland. Despite Amazon's claims of creating up to 100 full-time jobs and contributing $35 million to public infrastructure, locals remain skeptical, questioning the true economic benefits and expressing desires to preserve their peaceful, rural quality of life. The state's economic development agency, JobsOhio, promotes data centers as beneficial for job creation and attracting talent. The article frames the situation in Wilmington as representative of a broader national trend where rural communities are targeted for data center development due to cheap land, modest incomes, and potentially less stringent local officials. These communities often face tax incentives offered by states like Ohio to attract such projects. However, many residents prioritize their long-standing ties to the land over potential economic gains, viewing their modest incomes as the price for living in a tranquil environment. Governmental responses to this pushback are emerging across the country. Wisconsin voters have introduced four local ballot measures to regulate data center projects, with one already passed to increase public control over incentives for developers. Maine has gone further, enacting a law that halts major data center construction for over a year. The article also touches on differing national political stances, noting former President Donald Trump's support for rapid data center expansion, contrasting it with his personal quality-of-life concerns about airport noise near Mar-a-Lago, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's futuristic suggestion of placing data centers in outer space. Concerns about data centers' massive energy consumption potentially increasing local electricity rates are also discussed, though these could be offset by tax revenues. The author argues that decisions on data center placement should consider more than just the cost of living, acknowledging other important community values.