Data Centers are Problematic - Oregon Must Do More to Protect Our Land, Air and Water

Data Centers are Problematic and Oregon Must Do More

Over just a handful of years, we’ve seen the steady rise of data centers being built across the United States. Oregon has seen multiple facilities built to serve existing data needs for a range of companies. Much of the current push by Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google and others is about the future need related to the increased development of Artificial Intelligence.

Unfortunately, it seems that this current push to build large facilities across Oregon and beyond does not often contain a lot of human intelligence in regard to quality of life for people, or for the environment.

Data centers are built to store data at a massive scale. Large buildings with thousands of computer servers hum through day and night to feed our current fascination with social media, but even more are being planned and built to meet the projected widespread use of AI.

In Oregon, as in other areas, data centers consume vast amounts of water, often in water-scarce areas. They also consume immense amounts of electricity – so much so that nuclear generation facilities are being restarted or are being contemplated to meet the oncoming demand. The outlook by investors for companies like Portland General Electric is rosy. Their analyses make note of the increase in Data Centers in Oregon, with the higher electricity demand leading to larger profits – which results in higher stock value.

Many of these data centers must keep their servers between 70-80 degrees and to do so their cooling systems can use millions of gallons of cooling water a day, on par with large pulp and paper plants of old. In many places this creates a very real issue related to available water for municipal needs and agriculture. Then layer on the electricity for the servers and their cooling systems and we get something that is anathema to curbing global climate change.

Data centers do not provide many jobs after they are constructed, and ironically the increased use of AI that data centers support, will result in further job reductions for humans. We see this already, at companies like Intel who already announced significant layoffs with the idea of increased AI usage – which results in more demand for data centers.

In many places around the US people are making their voices heard about proposed or existing data centers, and their negative impacts. On the edge of Duluth MN, the town of Hermantown has seen a proposal for an AI data center. In what is almost customary for such situations, the City council was primed by the data center company to push through a zoning change for the center, and even signed non-disclosure agreements in order to dodge transparency. Thankfully in this case, local folks had just enough time to push back – resulting in the company pulling back its proposal. In Oregon there are multiple data centers, with too little scrutiny in regard how they were developed, and where they were placed. All of them use massive amounts of water and electricity.

It would seem putting some significant curbs on this growth makes sense (just as it would with AI itself), and carefully scrutinizing data center proposals. If and when they are built, data center owners and developers should make very significant contributions to the protection of land and water through non-profit organizations, and in local and regional government. Protecting our creeks, rivers, and ground water is essential. Further, the carbon imprint of these facilities must be carefully incorporated.

Oregon would be well-served by leadership that understands the risks presented to people, and the environment by data centers. Oregon should take bolder action in the face of this new issue. In a time where “streamlining” is a popular buzzword in regard to increasing business opportunities in Oregon, we must be exceedingly careful.  Oregon needs to consider first and foremost the well-being of its people in regard to Data Center placement, and develop a coherent strategy to ensure the protection of our water, air and land. 

Travis Williams is a long-time Willamette River conservationist, who today leads the Willamette River Preservation Trust. wrtrust.org