I used to think the cloud was something invisible, floating above in the ether. In reality, it is physical and lives in over 10,000 data centers worldwide.
The proposal for a data center in Clinton Township has brought the issue to Wayne County, PA. There are already data centers here, but they are small and unobtrusive. Your bank may have one, your hospital may have another.
Getting a lot of attention are the hyperscale data centers wanting to come to rural PA for our land and natural resources. What is the rush to approve these centers? The cynic in me believes it is to avoid public scrutiny. To push them through before the short- and long-term impacts are known.
There are hyperscale projects already built or in the process of being built, which can be looked at as Wayne County considers the costs and benefits of these projects. When researching experiences in other states, four major issues recurred: the scale of development and destruction of the natural environment, water quality and usage, electricity and how to meet demand, and noise pollution.
States like Georgia have seen major issues around water quality and usage. At least two hyperscale centers are associated with sediment in water and dwindling water levels during a persistent drought.
Concerned residents need to ask our local governments to strengthen land use and zoning ordinances to limit impacts to water, energy and the environment.
Some proposals for responsible development:
Conduct a water feasibility study, and include environmental impacts.
Require closed-loop cooling systems to reduce water demand.
Establish minimum clean-energy requirements and incentivize clean energy development.
Ensure that back-up electricity generation (usually diesel) is evaluated for environmental impacts.
Establish a sound ordinance.
Data center construction should meet the most energy-efficient design standard and be ready for solar storage.
Educate yourself and your neighbors. Attend and speak up at local government meetings. Call our county supervisors and ask them to take a leadership role in making sure that any data centers built in Wayne County meet the above standards, but first, slow down the process.
Julie Pease
Lake Ariel, PA