Taffy Howard

On concerns about hyperscale data centers

There are many! Water usage/pollution, setbacks, noise, electricity rates for other users, quality of life for not just neighbors, but our entire state, etc. So many of these have the potential to impact our quality of life, including our health. We are hearing stories around the nation about people’s electric rates doubling, tripling, or more, which leads to less money in your pocket to take care of other essential costs in your life, such as medical expenses, housing, etc. The question has to be asked…why are so many so intent on rolling out the welcome mat for these? I see no upside and only downsides.

How they’d address those concerns

I brought three bills last session that show ways I will continue to try and address these concerns. SBs 127, 128, and 232 would have established a one-year moratorium on any data centers in the state in order to allow local communities time to get zoning/regulations in place before they are forced to deal with these; they also ensured that all large-use electric consumers pay their own way (this went farther than the “Data Center Bill of Rights” that was passed in that it covered all large electric users of 10MW or higher); and established noise limits (45db) and setbacks from the nearest residences (one mile) and required a closed-loop water system. I will continue to push for common-sense regulations such as these because I believe the citizens must come first when we are dealing with these and those are issues I have concerns about and everyone I talk to about data centers shares those concerns.