Data centers don’t have to be a burden on local communities – and can even support them (Opinion)

An opinion piece, authored by Professors Gregor Henze and Sean Shaheen from the University of Colorado Boulder and republished from The Conversation, challenges the common perception that data centers are a burden on local communities. They acknowledge concerns about increased electricity demand and power prices but propose that with careful design, construction, and operation, data centers can actually support their host communities. The authors suggest several solutions: incorporating on-site power generation, utilizing advanced battery energy storage systems, and reusing waste heat. On-site power generation, potentially using modified jet engines to drive steam turbines, can address high power needs. Battery systems, capable of storing energy for hours to days, can provide backup during outages or help stabilize the grid during peak demand. As an example, Google's planned data center in Minnesota is mentioned, which aims to integrate solar panels, wind turbines, and iron-air batteries to create the world's largest electricity storage system with 300 megawatts of capacity and 100 hours of storage. Furthermore, the article proposes that the significant waste heat generated by data centers can be captured and used for district heating systems, or 'thermal microgrids,' to warm nearby buildings. A 75-megawatt data center in Mantsala, Finland, is cited as a successful example, providing heat to approximately 2,500 homes. The authors also emphasize the importance of advances in computational efficiency, including 'unconventional computing' and neuromorphic AI, to drastically reduce the energy consumed per unit of computation, thus minimizing the need for exponential growth in hardware and electricity usage. They conclude that combining these strategies can make data centers beneficial for communities, supporting energy affordability and resilience.