Parents Group Offers Guide to Assess Data Centers
A parents’ group provides a guide to help families evaluate data centers in their communities.
2 min read
A conservative parents’ group has released a guide to help families assess whether a proposed data center project is beneficial or harmful to their community. The American Parents Coalition provided a list of questions for parents to ask developers before any data center project begins, as the race to build data centers for artificial intelligence has raised concerns over water use, noise, and electricity costs.
Parents Need Clarity on Data Center Impact
Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, emphasized that parents should not have to become experts on infrastructure to understand how a data center might affect their family and community. “Companies have a unique opportunity to build goodwill, add value, and be welcomed within a community by outlining and negotiating terms that work for both the industry and the safety and security of our shared future,” Marré said.
Key Questions for Parents to Ask Developers
The guide outlines four key questions for families to ask data center developers: What will the project concretely do for the town? Where will its water come from? How much power will it need? And how will it treat the people living nearby?
Examples of Beneficial Data Centers
According to the guide, nearly half of property taxes in Loudoun County, Virginia, are supported by data center facilities, which also host the most data centers in the U.S. A Microsoft data center in Boydton, Virginia, cools itself using outside air for 85% of the year, requiring no water. Newer data centers increasingly reuse cooling water and supply their own power, as seen in DeKalb, Illinois, where a data center funded $48.5 million in property taxes and supported local school and public services.
Addressing Legitimate Concerns
The guide acknowledges that some fears about data centers are valid, citing older facilities in Virginia that used over two billion gallons of local drinking water for cooling. It also mentions a Wisconsin lawsuit where residents claimed a developer caused excessive noise. Parents are encouraged to engage with their local communities and discuss these issues both in person and online.
Source: Daily Caller
