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2365 words
- Data centers are the physical infrastructure behind the AI revolution. These enormous industrial buildings contain powerful computer chips and consume vast amounts of electricity. They are described as the factories of the AI age, supporting technology expected to transform how people live and work.
- The United States already has more than 3,000 data centers, with another 1,500 proposed. Their rapid expansion has made data-center development one of the major issues entering the midterm elections.
- Texas has become a major battleground over data-center expansion. The state is attracting enormous investment, but rural communities are increasingly resisting developments they believe threaten their land, water, electricity supply and quality of life.
- Jasmine Villegas has become a leading opponent of data-center development near Red Oak, Texas. She lives on a quiet farm outside Dallas, is a mother of five and a Marine veteran. A proposed data-center campus a few miles away is described as almost three times the size of the facility being shown.
- Villegas sees her opposition as an extension of her military service. Asked why she became central to the campaign, she explained that wearing no uniform does not mean her service to the country has ended. She continues to identify with the oath she took to protect and defend the Constitution.
- Villegas is concerned about potential environmental and health consequences. She questions whether chemicals, pollution, water consumption, air quality and noise from nearby data centers could affect her family and community. She does not claim to know that the facilities are enemies; her concern is that residents do not know what consequences to expect.
- Data centers have become symbols of wider public anxiety about economic and technological change. Opposition at town halls and on social media reflects concerns about rising household costs, the influence of powerful technology companies, congestion, overcrowding and the possibility that artificial intelligence will threaten people's livelihoods and futures.
- Electricity prices have become a significant concern in Loudoun County, Virginia. The county has the world's highest concentration of data centers, and residents have experienced substantial electricity-bill increases over the past year. Growing electricity demand from data centers is identified as at least one contributing factor.
- Water consumption is a major source of opposition in Arizona. Residents of Chandler worry that data centers will use substantial quantities of water for cooling in a desert state already experiencing a shrinking water supply.
- Traffic and construction activity are disrupting communities around Red Oak. Construction workers' vehicles reportedly clog local roads for miles before dawn, adding to residents' concerns about congestion and the practical consequences of large developments.
- Red Oak residents accuse their city council of approving data-center development without sufficient transparency. At one meeting, residents said nobody in the room supported the project, yet the council proceeded with approval. They believe important decisions were made without adequately consulting the affected community.
- Villegas responded to the council's decision with anger rather than resignation. She described the situation as a challenge that strengthened her determination to oppose the development.
- Michael Webber, a University of Texas professor specialising in the relationship between water and energy, advises technology companies on data-center development. Companies considering construction in Texas consult him about the practical requirements and responsibilities associated with their projects.
- Webber believes technology companies must contribute meaningfully to the communities where they operate. His recommendations are that companies pay their taxes, hire people, remain flexible in their electricity consumption, become water-positive and achieve carbon-negative operations.
- Webber's basic message to technology companies is not to damage the communities hosting them. He summarises his advice as: don't be a jerk, don't take the water, don't break the electricity grid and don't ruin the land.
- The scale of AI data centers is dramatically different from that of traditional facilities. Data centers have existed for decades, but their recent construction speed and size are unprecedented. Webber explains that a large facility roughly two years ago might have required 5 megawatts of electricity, whereas a new AI data center could require 1,000 megawatts — approximately 200 times as much.
- Major technology companies are preparing enormous investments in data-center infrastructure. Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are expected to spend approximately $1.5 trillion building data centers through the following year.
- There is disagreement over whether demand for AI infrastructure will eventually level off. Some experts believe the current expansion will eventually satisfy demand. Others argue that demand for intelligence will never be satisfied, meaning companies will continually seek additional computing capacity and build more data centers.
- Supporters believe the expansion could lead to artificial general intelligence. AGI refers to artificial intelligence capable of matching or surpassing human capabilities. The additional computing capacity being built today is considered an important potential foundation for achieving it.
- The anticipated benefits of AI infrastructure extend beyond commercial applications. Supporters point to autonomous vehicles, robotic factories and potentially groundbreaking scientific discoveries, including the possibility of curing cancer. These are presented as potential benefits rather than guaranteed outcomes.
- Data-center construction also has organised labour support. Building trade unions favour additional development because constructing these facilities requires substantial amounts of skilled labour.
- Claims about data-center water consumption require qualification. A CBS News analysis found that golf courses across the United States consume more than twice as much water as data centers collectively. This challenges the assumption that data centers are necessarily among the country's largest water consumers, although it does not eliminate concerns about their effects on water supplies in particular locations.
- The AI infrastructure expansion is increasingly being treated as an international competition. Technology companies are racing to secure electricity and train increasingly capable AI models before their competitors. The competition is frequently described as an AI arms race.
- National security is one of the arguments supporting rapid American investment in AI infrastructure. Supporters believe the United States must develop advanced AI before potentially hostile competitors, including China, because the outcome could have major national-security and economic consequences.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott initially made attracting major technology companies a central development objective. He publicly promoted Texas as Google's worldwide centerpiece for AI data centers, positioning the state as a major destination for the industry's expansion.
- Gina Irizarry, the Democratic candidate challenging Abbott in November, has made data centers a central campaign issue. She is calling for a temporary moratorium on further development and has criticised the governor's relationship with the industry.
- Irizarry alleges that Abbott received $20 million in campaign donations from data-center executives and companies. The allegation raises questions about the relationship between political contributions, government support for development and decisions affecting local communities.
- Abbott subsequently changed his public position on data-center expansion. He began pushing back against AI facilities attempting to establish themselves in residential communities.
- In August, Abbott paused approval of new data centers that would draw electricity from the state's power grid pending completion of an audit. The decision represented a shift from his earlier efforts to attract the industry and acknowledged concerns about the consequences of additional electricity demand.
- Opposition to a proposed Red Oak development has crossed traditional political boundaries. Dave Lowe, who lives next to the proposed facility, describes himself as a lifelong conservative Republican. His concerns include traffic, congestion, noise and environmental effects on the place where he lives.
- Lowe says the data-center controversy has changed how he approaches voting. He describes it as the first issue in his adult life that he believes will directly affect him. He has decided not to vote automatically for either Republicans or Democrats, but instead to support whichever candidate is prepared to speak up and take meaningful action on the issue.
- Opposition to nearby data centers is unusually widespread across political affiliations. More than 60% of Republicans, independents and Democrats reportedly agree that they do not want a data center located where they live.
- A few dozen Red Oak residents from across the political spectrum have organised regular opposition meetings. Lowe and Villegas are among the participants. The group meets twice a month and focuses primarily on preventing a development proposed by a company called Compass.
- Compass proposes building ten two-story data centers on agricultural land in Red Oak. The proposed development occupies an area comparable in size to Manhattan's Central Park, transforming rural agricultural property into a large industrial complex.
- The Compass development is only one part of a much larger expansion planned around Red Oak. Seven data-center campuses are proposed across the town, and their combined footprint could cover more than a quarter of the entire municipality.
- Red Oak has a population of approximately 20,000. Residents fear that the scale of the proposed developments could fundamentally change the character of their community, particularly because the projects are being introduced into areas traditionally used for agriculture.
- Residents want to know whether the city properly investigated the consequences before encouraging data-center development. At their meetings, they specifically asked what feasibility studies Red Oak had conducted before inviting these facilities into the community.
- Compass and Red Oak's local leaders declined to speak to 60 Minutes. The refusal prevented the programme from obtaining direct explanations from those responsible for the proposed development and its local approval.
- Compass CEO Chris Crosby previously described the company's intentions in positive terms. Speaking in July, he said Compass wanted to become part of the communities where it operates, create jobs over the long term and generate continued investment and growth.
- Rural Hood County, approximately 70 miles west of Red Oak, is facing another major wave of proposed data-center construction. Nine proposals have emerged, with the potential development involving approximately 10,000 acres of land.
- Dave Eagle is one of five elected officials serving on Hood County's Commissioners Court. The court is responsible for voting on the proposed developments, placing him in a position to influence whether major projects proceed.
- Eagle believes developers may underestimate rural communities and their elected representatives. He suspects some companies approach rural officials assuming they are poorly informed or unsophisticated, making it easier to secure favourable development arrangements.
- Some proposed Hood County developments have been identified through coded project names rather than transparent public identities. Eagle listed Project Yellow, Project Red, Project Lion and Project Panther. He believes these names make it harder for officials and residents to identify and track the companies behind the proposals.
- Eagle says developers have a history of withholding information from local officials. He describes having to extract details from companies rather than receiving straightforward explanations of what they intend to build and what arrangements they are seeking.
- An out-of-state company approached Hood County officials the previous year without initially identifying itself. The company presented its proposal as a major opportunity, promising jobs, good neighbourly relations and improvements to the community, but refused to explain exactly what it intended to develop or disclose who was behind the proposal.
- Eagle believes the unidentified company's presentation was designed to impress officials without providing meaningful information. He described the approach as an attempt to razzle-dazzle the county, creating the impression that officials were being offered an exceptionally large opportunity.
- Two months after the initial approach, Eagle discovered that Amazon Web Services was behind the proposal. The revelation identified one of the world's largest technology companies as the organisation seeking to develop in Hood County.
- Amazon Web Services requested exceptionally large property-tax concessions from Hood County. Documents obtained by 60 Minutes showed that AWS sought up to 90% in property-tax rebates for a period of 30 years.
- Eagle rejected the proposed AWS tax arrangement. He acknowledged that attracting a major company such as Amazon could generate additional tax revenue and benefit the community, but argued that the county should not surrender 90% of the resulting tax revenue back to the company.
- Eagle voted against the AWS development in Hood County. His objection centred on the scale and duration of the requested tax concessions, rather than simply opposing the possibility of attracting a major technology company.
- AWS proceeded with development in the neighbouring county after failing to secure its Hood County proposal. The neighbouring county granted the company the tax rebate it had requested, demonstrating that the proposed investment could move to another jurisdiction offering more favourable financial terms.
- Amazon said it ultimately decided not to build in Hood County. In its statement, the company said that wherever it invests, it works with local leaders to create jobs and generate revenue for public services. Its statement defended its approach to local investment without addressing the broader concerns about the original tax-rebate negotiations in detail.
- Third-generation Texas rancher Blake O'Quinn fears data-center development will undermine traditional ranching. He is concerned that agricultural land will disappear, leaving insufficient space for cattle to graze and potentially reducing the water available for his herd.
- O'Quinn believes rural communities must explain the importance of agriculture before development permanently changes their way of life. He argues that if ranchers fail to stand up and educate the public about what they do, their livelihoods and traditions could be threatened.
- Rural opposition is not necessarily opposition to technological progress itself. O'Quinn stresses that his community is not against all change. Its concern is that development should respect the land, the values and traditions of rural Texans, and the responsibility to preserve agricultural resources for future generations.
- O'Quinn sees land stewardship as a responsibility extending beyond the current generation. He describes rural Texans as custodians of their land, with an obligation to care for it and pass it on to the next generation rather than allow it to be irreversibly transformed.
- Approximately two-thirds of proposed American data centers are planned for rural areas. This means communities traditionally characterised by farms and rural housing are likely to experience a disproportionate share of the physical transformation associated with AI infrastructure expansion.
- Rural Texans are preparing for prolonged resistance against large technology companies. O'Quinn says they intend to continue fighting because protecting their land, agricultural livelihoods and established way of life is fundamental to their communities.