GOP gubernatorial candidates Drummond and Mazzei talk controversial data centers, Flock cameras
Oklahoma's GOP gubernatorial candidates, Mike Mazzei and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, discussed their stances on data center development, focusing on electricity and water usage. Both candidates expressed support for data centers under specific conditions, including self-supplied power and advanced water recycling systems. Drummond highlighted past legislative actions requiring large data centers to provide their own power.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Mike Mazzei and Attorney General Gentner Drummond addressed controversial issues in Oklahoma, including the proliferation of data centers, during their runoff election campaign. Both candidates expressed conditional support for data center development within the state.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond outlined his preferences for data centers, stating they should not receive property tax breaks and must bring their own power if their need is 75 megawatts or greater. He also emphasized the importance of water conservation, requiring recycling systems for water usage. Drummond noted that he had previously instituted a large load tariff, which the state legislature codified in its last session to address power consumption by large facilities.
Mike Mazzei echoed similar sentiments, stipulating that data centers should not receive taxpayer dollars, must provide their own energy to avoid impacting the public grid, and should utilize advanced, closed-loop cooling systems for manageable water use. He also expressed a preference for data centers to be developed only in locally approved industrial spaces. KOCO visited a TierPoint data center in the Oklahoma City metro, noting its chiller plant system for water recycling and relatively low electricity usage, contrasting it with the much larger 'Google-type' data centers that residents often worry about.