Data Centers, Inside Appalachia
The episode examines the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers across rural Appalachia, including resident concerns in Mercer County, Kentucky, and Tucker County, West Virginia. It also discusses opposition to xAI's data center near the Memphis-Mississippi border, where residents report noise, vibration and pollution concerns.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Inside Appalachia explores the growth of large, AI-focused data centers in rural Appalachian communities. Reporter Julia Tilton explains that the facilities are expanding rapidly because training and operating AI systems requires substantial computing capacity. Residents in Mercer County, Kentucky, have protested a proposed hyperscale data center, while reporting from Tucker County, West Virginia, examines local development concerns and limited public information.
The episode also covers opposition to xAI's data center near the Memphis-Mississippi border, where residents are experiencing noise and vibration from the campus and its gas turbines. Host Mason Adams, reporters Joe Sonka and Dan Parks, and other contributors discuss public awareness, environmental impacts and regional protest efforts, including musicians using their work to challenge data center expansion.