I wasn’t worried about Sarah Connor. I was worried about the clean up costs of the abandoned data centers.

AIs economics do not make sense right now.

Genetics went crazy in the 80s. Took another 30 years to be useful. So far, other than eliminating admin costs - which is of benefit - it can’t do much.

The group using a specialist one to make rocket engines/some of the research ones are on the right track, but it will fail most of its hype.

Some of that is the nature of hype, some the nature of a new industry, some the nature of mathematics which cannot do what some people claim that it can do.

Now, if the biological hybrid chips ever work, that could do a lot/maybe if AI gets used to train pigeons/mice/etc.

Thanks for this post Jesse. I had long suspected the truth to be closer to what you outline than what the detractors claim.
I see little downside to them assuming they are neutral use on water and electricity. I'd like intelligent site selection but frankly for anyone who has traveled the Western US knows, we have plenty of space that won't take up farmland or scenic views.

I was watching one analyst who portrayed data centers as a continuous march that won’t be stopped, likened to the auto taking over from the horse & buggy. It’s a worldwide phenomenon, though the USA is a centerpiece.

North of Milwaukee, I-43, west side there’s a MASSIVE data center being built, massive. Maybe these centers will bring about reasonable use of nuclear for energy generation? For whatever reason many like to protest the centers.


https://www.wired.com/story/ex...-wired-data-centers/

I’m sure there are benefits but it’s obvious these are being used to save every scarp of useless digital data that can latched onto and sold for profit. That and useless crap like fake images and Facebook posts about lunch or socks which must be saved in perpetuity with multiple backups. It hasn’t been needed until recently but now we must build these energy wasting centers rather then the industry it takes to not be dependent on China.

Of course too all the tracking of most of us. Like when you research a new lawnmower or vehicle, now you have advertising for such when surfing the web.

My issue is at least in Michigan that data centers are being proposed or constructed on productive farmland. When asked “Why not on Brownfields?” we are told that it’s more economical to build on virgin land.

The adjacent township to our west has been fighting a proposed data center on just that type of land, one thousand acres of productive farm land. No municipal water supply so it will entail groundwater usage. In this area we are dependent on groundwater sources for both municipal and private needs. No sewer service so another problem. Let’s not forget electricity too.

NDA’s fly like sparrows also. Coincidentally the top candidate for Governor on the D side, our at present Secretary of State Benson, her husband is deep in data center development here. We know where her loyalties are.

Our Governor had been all for renewable electric generation. Now she’s flip flopped. The existing grid and generating capacity will not support it. Besides building new transmission lines to the site there will be backup diesel generators required for peak usage times, this has been revealed.

Now another fly in the ointment. A cross state highway today known as Grand River and in prior years as U.S. 16 will have to be rerouted as it passes through the southern one third of this site. A little history, this road existed as an Indian trail and later in the 1840’s became a plank road between Detroit and Lansing.

So to acquire Right Of Way and reroute this highway, the only cross state highway in this area except for Interstate 96, guess who will probably ultimately pay for it as it’s now designated a county road? Yep, the taxpayers.

quote:

Originally posted by jprebb:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
We don't want them in rural Tucker County, WV.

Just curious, but why not? Loudoun County is the richest county in the US and they have over 200 data centers there. If they were so bad the residents there are wealthy enough to have stopped them in the first place.

JP

Because Tucker County, WV contains one of the more unique -and thereby fragile- ecosystems in the entire eastern US, Canaan Valley. Pristine streams that hold the state fish (Native Brook Trout) and rivers that bring in tourism from all over the country. Two ski areas.
Plants and trees normally found in cooler climates like Canada…are found there. And nowhere else in the US.

Development there is very restricted, in general.

We are holding off on investing in a vacation property there until this data center issue is resolved.

There’s a huge amount of wasteland in the Western US - in climates where solar is actually useful.

It seems like a good use of that kind of land, provided the cooling can be solved, without using ground water.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
There’s a huge amount of wasteland in the Western US - in climates where solar is actually useful.

I’m trying to ignore this comment—from the east coast.

I grew up in TX and MT.

Nevada, UT, NM, West TX etc all have large swaths of land which cannot be used for anything.

Some can be recovered - and it’s important to fight desertification.

But…. Hell, there’s a reason why it was used for nuke testing, etc.

Okay.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
... but frankly for anyone who has traveled the Western US knows, we have plenty of space that won't take up farmland or scenic views.

Sure we do...until we don't.

That's the problem with incrementalism. Everyone with a wild hair up their ass says, "This little thing isn't going to affect anyone". But, pretty soon, all of those "little things" add up and destroy what we have.

The John Stossel video is good, but there are a lot of people, all over the country, opposed to what is happening in their communities.

A New Special Interest Coalition for ’26 and ’28, Datacenters

A few weeks ago, I was having a politics conversation with a tech insider. The issue of datacenters became a focus of the conversation. The first response from him was “this is the issue that might decide 2026 and will certainly decide 2028.”

The tech side of the issue is essentially: As 5G wifi was to mobile connectivity, so too are the datacenters the cornerstone of nationwide AI rollout. Eventually, all of the datacenters will interconnect and become part of a massive information system that houses all knowledge, a great digital brain. From that point, engagement with Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems will become like a public utility.

The datacenters themselves can be a hot button issue as their proximity to people creates friction. Battles against datacenters are taking place in rural and non-rural areas alike. With deep pockets and strong national security arguments involving the “AI race,” the technocrats are currently winning the argument. However, as with all special interest issues, the opportunity for political benefit now determines DC advocacy.
WATCH:



Is opposition to datacenters strong enough to tilt the outcome of the 2026 midterms? And do you believe 2028 will be determined with this issue at the forefront?

https://theconservativetreehou...centers/#more-283908

I don’t understand why they only want to put them on prime farmland and prime retail/residential real estate. I heard they were putting one near Times Square in NYC. Tearing down theatres to make room!

A data center has been proposed for a 76 acre plot of land four miles from me. The plans filed requests 180 megawatts of power for the site.

The plan also indicates that the tech center would only occupy around 5 acres of land with the rest of the property planned for housing, retail and green space.

Lots of leftys including the local leftist rag oppose the plan. I'm of a mind that if it creates jobs and they pay their fair share of taxes, then have at it.

Skins, I’m curious to know more about the cooling systems in place in your center, if you can talk about it.

I’ll email you after while.

I appreciate your insight Jesse. I understand data centers are a necessity, it still doesn't add up when you look at the energy requirements for this huge 800 acre datacenter complex being built in SC.
"The QTS data center campus near Newport, SC, is projected to consume up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity when fully operational.To help visualize this massive scale, that amount of power is roughly equal to:The electricity needed to power 750,000 homes simultaneously.The entire output of a large nuclear reactor or a major power plant."

quote:

Originally posted by jprebb:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
We don't want them in rural Tucker County, WV.

Just curious, but why not? Loudoun County is the richest county in the US and they have over 200 data centers there. If they were so bad the residents there are wealthy enough to have stopped them in the first place.

JP

It's a pristine, quiet natural area of the state with dark sky enjoyed by residents and tourists alike for outdoor activities. Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley State Parks are right there. So it's a completely inappropriate site for a mega industrial complex that they boast "the facility could be “among the largest data center campuses in the world,” spanning 10,000 acres across Tucker and Grant counties if fully realized."

This anti-data center nonsense is being driven by China.


It is extremely tiresome.

Data Centers are becoming a hot issue here in New Yorkistan. One concern is their power consumption and how that will affect our grid, which is already under stress due to years of neglect and our state's electrification mandates (or, as I like to call them the "ready, fire, aim" policies). Our 'leaders" have closed nuclear power plants and villainized natural gas and fossil fuels. They express concerns about data centers and the environment yet grant easily permits for huge solar farms on prime farm land. And now they're talking about building new nuclear power plants! What they don't talk about is how it will take 15 years at least for that,

Full disclosure: the firm I work for is involved with the HEP/FP infrastructure design for renovations, expansion and new construction of data centers. Jesse - thank you for posting this, it's good information.