Hailey talk to discuss data centers

A public discussion titled "The Dark Side of Data Centers" is scheduled to take place at Hailey's Liberty Theater, addressing the environmental concerns associated with the proliferation of large data centers across the U.S. Josh Johnson, Central Idaho Director for the Idaho Conservation League, will lead the free talk, highlighting the significant water and energy demands of these facilities. The event specifically references two major data center projects in Idaho. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is nearing completion on a 960,000-square-foot, $900-million data center in Ada County, expected to be operational by year-end. Additionally, Diode Ventures has a large data center project slated for construction near Kuna. Johnson emphasized the substantial electricity usage of these developments, noting that the proposed Kuna area data center is projected to consume 600-800 megawatts, approximately twice the energy used by all homes in Ada County. Concerns also extend to water consumption, an area where Johnson states uncertainties remain. He pointed out Idaho is home to 17 operational data centers, with 1,500 more under development across the U.S. The legislative landscape in Idaho further complicates matters; a 2020 law offers sales tax exemptions for data center developers investing over $250 million, contingent on job creation. However, new bills have been introduced to potentially limit these tax exemptions and impose additional regulations on future data center projects.