Port CEO says local data center impacts differ from national concerns
Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority CEO Jim Kuntz argues that data center development in North Central Washington, specifically Chelan and Douglas counties, has different impacts than in other parts of the country. He highlights how local policies, water usage, electricity rates, and tax contributions mitigate common concerns, using Microsoft's Malaga campus as an example. Kuntz states that local governments and utilities have carefully structured development to avoid significant problems.
Jim Kuntz, CEO of the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority, presented a "value proposition" for data centers at an Aug. 11 Tri-Commission meeting with Chelan County and Chelan PUD. He argued that local policies and conditions in North Central Washington address national concerns about water consumption, electricity demand, tax incentives, and limited employment related to data center development. Kuntz emphasized that while these issues may be valid elsewhere, the local approach yields different results.
Highlighting water use, Kuntz compared Microsoft's Malaga campus to the agricultural land it replaced. He showed that the data center is projected to consume 19 million gallons of water annually, significantly less than the 129 million gallons previously used by orchards on the property. He also noted that Microsoft's first three buildings use evaporative and outside air cooling, with later buildings expected to use closed-loop systems. Furthermore, the development is funding over $50 million in improvements to the Malaga Water District system.
Regarding electricity, Kuntz pointed to Chelan PUD's policies that subject data centers to separate rates and requirements, designed to prevent cost shifts to existing customers and ensure adequate infrastructure. He praised the PUD for its responsible approach to managing large energy loads. The discussion also covered employment, with an estimated 75 full-time workers per data center building, potentially leading to 1,120 permanent jobs across 15 facilities in Chelan and Douglas counties. Data centers also contribute substantially to the property tax base, with Microsoft's development alone estimated to add $2 billion in assessed value on each side of the Columbia River.
Kuntz also differentiated current data centers from those focused solely on artificial intelligence, noting that most permitted facilities in the region serve broader digital services. While acknowledging some impacts like increased traffic and housing pressure, he maintained that local governments and utilities have proactively managed development, making the overall impacts significantly less than in other regions and the positives outweighing the negatives.