CENTRAL WASHINGTON – While data centers provide critical infrastructure for AI and the internet as a whole, they are also known to guzzle up water and power while creating other environmental headaches. A new report by the Columbia Riverkeeper found that as communities in Washington and Oregon grapple with how to power these projects, a troubling energy source is being proposed: methane.
“So, because of the additional demand that data centers add to our energy system, we are seeing proposals for new gas infrastructure, including potentially new gas pipelines,” said Audrey Leonard, an attorney with the Columbia Riverkeeper who worked on the report. “And this is coming at a time when the region was really doing a good job to wean ourselves off of gas and to really replace that fossil fuel generation with renewables like solar and wind.”
In Grant County, Quincy is one of the region’s largest data center hubs, with companies like Microsoft investing heavily in development in the city. The Seattle Times reported last month that Grant County Public Utilities Department is looking to double the amount of power that can be brought into Quincy from 372 megawatts to 750.
There’s no easy way to do that. Grant P.U.D. is seeking to obtain miles of privately owned land to build transmission towers to help carry that power in. P.U.D. commissioners have also shown interest in building new gas power plants in the county.
The Williams Companies have proposed expanding the Northwest Pipeline into Quincy. This sprawling pipeline, with more than 1300 miles in Washington, carries methane gas throughout the Western U.S. Williams have proposed building 137 new miles of pipeline as part of their Valley Trail Project.
Williams told KHQ-TV in a statement that “To be clear, none of our current projects in the Valley Trail area are being driven by data center growth.”
KHQ-TV asked for follow-up from Williams on what those drivers are if not data centers on June 10. Williams did not respond.
Methane pipelines and compressor stations release unhealthy pollutants in communities, while methane emissions continue to warm the planet. Washington has set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including methane and carbon dioxide, by 95% from 1990 levels by 2050.
“We were doing a good job of moving away from gas,” Leonard said. “Because of this new demand scenario that data centers are presenting, the fossil fuel industry is wanting to jump on that and make a profit. So what we’re seeing is Big Tech and the fossil fuel industry seeing an opportunity to make a profit, and the way that they’re going about that is not necessarily keeping in mind the effects and impacts that this will have on communities and the climate.”
Statewide efforts to limit data center expansion have been growing. A bill to regulate data centers stalled in the Legislature in March, but the Seattle City Council approved a moratorium on new data centers on June 9, and Spokane City Council members introduced an ordinance to do the same.