Just say the magic words

Residents across Pennsylvania and New York are actively raising alarms over the proliferation of large-scale data center proposals within their communities. Opposition, described as remarkably bipartisan, stems from significant concerns regarding the environmental and infrastructure impacts of these facilities. Communities are particularly focused on the immense electricity and water demands, with typical hyperscale AI data centers consuming as much electricity as 100,000 households and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling systems. Concerns extend to potential strains on local utility rates, increased air pollution from power generation, and the re-zoning of thousands of acres of agricultural land for industrial use. A central point of contention is the use of "proprietary" claims by data center developers, utilities, and municipalities to withhold critical information about energy and water consumption and even project developers' identities. This mirrors an earlier struggle over transparency in hydraulic fracturing. In response, both Pennsylvania and New York are actively developing legislation aimed at regulating water and energy usage, safeguarding ratepayers from bearing the costs of grid upgrades and new power generation, and curbing the use of non-disclosure agreements to obscure vital project details. The article also touches upon the broader trend of invoking "national security" to circumvent environmental regulations, citing an instance where this justification was used to exempt oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico from Endangered Species Act protections, providing context for the challenges communities face in scrutinizing data center developments.