Commentary: Minnesota urged to embrace strategic data center development
This opinion piece argues that Minnesota should strategically embrace data center development, building them responsibly to address common concerns like water and electricity usage, rather than resorting to moratoriums. The author suggests that with proper planning and technological solutions, data centers can provide significant economic advantages, including bolstering local tax bases. The article contrasts this approach with the political opposition seen in other states and highlights potential benefits from well-managed projects.
An opinion piece in Twin Cities Business argues that Minnesota should strategically embrace data center development, acknowledging the growing political opposition and concerns about water and electricity usage that have made data centers a 'politically toxic issue' in states like Texas and Pennsylvania.
The author contends that while previous generations of data centers have contributed to these concerns, technological advancements in cooling, such as direct-to-chip and immersion cooling pioneered by Rochester-based LiquidCool Solutions, can significantly reduce water consumption. Regarding electricity, the article, referencing research from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Tyler Norris at Duke University, suggests that data centers could potentially reduce electricity prices if they build necessary grid upgrades and curtail power usage during peak stress. The author proposes a 'Large Load Surcharge' for major energy consumers to fund grid improvements.
The piece highlights the economic benefits, particularly property tax relief, that data centers can offer, especially in the context of declining commercial real estate values in cities like Minneapolis and rising property taxes in Minnesota counties such as Dakota, St. Louis, and Carver. It cites examples from Loudoun County, Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland, where data centers have led to tax cuts or significant community benefit packages. The sale of the Star Tribune printing plant in Downtown Minneapolis for a data center development is presented as a local example of a beneficial deal.
The author advises against moratoriums, arguing that Minnesota could lose out on the economic and employment opportunities from the one construction sector currently expanding. Instead, the article advocates for 'building them right' by adopting policies that maximize community benefits, address environmental impacts, and potentially utilize brownfield or Superfund sites for development, contrasting this with poorly planned facilities like the Collosus facility on the Mississippi-Tennessee border.