Data Center Protest Leader Decries What She Says Are Lies, Backroom Deals
Amy Kremer, chair of Humans First, is leading a "Data Center Revolt" bus tour, accusing data center supporters of using secret deals and false arguments to get facilities approved. Her tour is making stops in Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming. She advocates for greater public say and transparency in data center development decisions.
Amy Kremer, chair of the organization Humans First and a former Tea Party leader, is spearheading a "Data Center Revolt" bus tour across the country, with planned stops in Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming, on September 28. Kremer alleges that data center facilities are being approved through opaque "secret backroom deals" and based on "bogus arguments" that circumvent public input.
In an interview with Townsquare Media, Kremer criticized the current approval process, stating that data center technology is "being shoved down our throats" without public consent or votes. She emphasized that data centers, as the "backbone and heartbeat of AI," utilize "American data, on American land with American energy, with American resources," yet the American people "have no say in it."
Kremer is demanding that communities have a "seat at the table" and the ability to vote on whether to allow data centers. She claims that by the time residents learn about these projects, often involving non-disclosure agreements and shell companies, the process is too far along to stop. She also accused data center companies of misleading the public about their intentions, citing closed-loop water systems as an example, where companies might promise water-efficient systems but later opt for cheaper, less efficient alternatives after approval.