Pro-Data Center Ads Target Oregon, Here’s Who’s Behind Them
A pro-data center ad campaign by Oregon Connects, funded by the Data Center Coalition, aims to improve public opinion amidst growing criticism over energy, water, and tax breaks. This comes as the Oregon Legislature passed a one-year pause on a tax incentive program and the Hillsboro City Council enacted a 120-day moratorium on new data center approvals. An environmental group also filed a lawsuit against Hillsboro over data center tax abatements.
Just days before the Oregon Legislature in March paused a significant tax incentive program for data centers, a new non-profit, Oregon Connects, registered in the state and launched a pro-data center advertising campaign. The ads, similar to those run by "Connects" groups in six other states and funded by the Data Center Coalition, aim to counter growing public critiques regarding data centers' high demand for water, energy, and land, as well as their relatively low job creation compared to the substantial tax breaks they receive. The Data Center Coalition's members include major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, QTS, and Equinix, which have collectively benefited from Oregon's tax incentives, saving them hundreds of millions annually.
Oregon lawmakers and regulators have been pressured to address regional energy demand driven by data centers, leading to calls for new utility customer classes and a reevaluation of industrial tax incentive programs. Oregon Connects' registration coincided with the Oregon House's vote to pass a bill that included a one-year moratorium on Standard Enterprise Zone tax abatements for data centers, a program previously used by facilities in Hillsboro and Forest Grove. Governor Tina Kotek initially proposed expanding these programs but reversed course after reports highlighted that most benefits flowed to data centers, with some receiving nearly $300,000 in property tax breaks per employee.
The advertising campaign by Oregon Connects has faced criticism from groups like the Oregon Center for Public Policy, which argues the ads misrepresent the tech companies' contributions. Similarly, Jenni Denekas of 1000 Friends of Oregon, an environmental advocacy group, stated the ads are a reaction to public organizing around "very real concerns" about data center development. 1000 Friends of Oregon recently joined a lawsuit against the Hillsboro city government over its approvals of extensive tax breaks for data centers. In a related development, the Hillsboro City Council unanimously enacted a 120-day moratorium on approvals for new data centers and battery energy storage systems, a decision community leader Dirk Knudsen attributed to resident advocacy. Knudsen views the Oregon Connects campaign as a "highly sophisticated, out-of-state public affairs blitz" rather than a grassroots effort.