Data centers
Data centers are a growing concern across the united states and in missouri
There are now more than 3,000 data centers in America, more than in any other country. The developers of data centers argue that data centers are the engines that are powering business, research, and innovation, and offer the promise of economically enriching the cities, counties, states and neighborhoods that host them. However, communities have genuine concerns about potential problems with data centers, and these concerns along with lack of transparency with the public about some data center projects have created quite a controversy.
Potential Advantages of allowing data centers in Missouri:
They may boost the local economy. Many of our rural counties in particular are losing population, and could use an influx of business and jobs that data center production and maintenance could provide.
Data centers are needed to support the expanding data processing and storage needs of business, research, and artificial intelligence.
Potential problems with data centers:
Data centers use a lot of resources, most notably energy and water, and might cause the price of these essential resources to increase for communities.
The job boom data centers create can be short lived. After construction is finished, data centers do not employ a large number of people.
The light from data centers can create local light pollution that disorients migrating birds and interferes with nearby residents’ ability to view the night stars.
The centers produce continuous noise. This can negatively affect surrounding wildlife and cause health issues for people living nearby. For example, there is evidence that noise pollution increases the incidence of Parkinson’s disease.
Many communities find the increased traffic to and from the sites during construction and maintenance problematic.
Missouri can host data centers, but we must do so intelligently
Data centers are here to stay, and at least some data centers are needed to support 21st century industry and science. We need to find ways to responsibly host them. Missouri has the largest river system in North America, which makes our state particularly attractive to data center builders because of the water data centers consume. We can expect that communities in Missouri will continue to receive many proposals from data center developers.
It is vitally important that we consider how to build data centers responsibly to minimize any negative impacts on surrounding communities. Developers, politicians, and community leaders need to be absolutely transparent with residents about data plans, locations, noise and light pollution impacts, and any resources data centers will be expected to require from the local community.
Data centers should be built at a safe distance from population centers. We need further study on how data centers affect nearby homes and how far away they should be built to ensure the health, comfort, and safety of neighboring communities. Data centers should not be allowed to negatively impact the local drinking water supply or drive up energy prices for regular consumers.
Data center developers should also not expect subsidies from the surrounding population. Developers need to pay their own property taxes and should not get special discounts on water or energy.