You would have said the same thing about automobiles in 1898.
Posted on 10/27/2025 7:47:47 AM PDT by LouAvul
TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — Oklahoma is experiencing rapid growth in the data center industry, with 36 facilities either planned, under construction, or already operational. This expansion has prompted concerns over the massive consumption of electricity and water by these centers, leading one Oklahoma lawmaker to spearhead an interim study examining their potential impacts on the state's resources.
State Rep. Amanda Clinton's (D-District 71) study highlights that decisions regarding the location of these facilities are primarily made at the local level, with minimal state oversight. The study demonstrated that data centers consume significant amounts of water and electricity, potentially straining local utilities and increasing costs for residents. Clinton also cautioned that the job creation promised by these projects is often overstated.
"This industry is moving really quickly, and I would rather proceed with caution rather than jump in on the front end of this," Clinton said. "We don't know the long-term impacts of these facilities. We don't have an economic impact, really, that's reliable. It's largely unstudied. So, you know, we don't really truly know what we're getting into."
While the study is still under review, Clinton hopes it will guide future state policy to prevent communities from facing unintended consequences.
I really wish they would not build these things in Oklahoma.
How can this be anything but a very expensive fad?
AI
You mean like the internet back in the 90s?
I see yet another Democrat wanting to take over more control of utilities. It's the job of utility companies to provide for the needs of their customers and they "don't need no help" from Democrats.
Gee why not just cover half the state with windmills and solar farms and the problem would be solved ( sarcasm).
They approved a big plant here in Morgan County Indiana just a couple of weeks ago and it was a huge fight against it but the county counsel finally gave the stamp to allow it to proceed.
Most of the opposition was coordinated by out-of-state protesters who coached everyone exactly what to protest about and every single negative possibility that could arise if it went through.
I guess the biggest concern is the cooling towers and the huge amount of water used in keeping them cool, but everything from noise, magnetic radiation, loss of farmland, road usage, power lines, were equally touted.
I look at it this way, they do know what they’re doing and putting in a billion + dollar facility they of course did their homework on the site feasibility before asking to proceed. I agree completely that absolutely anywhere they choose will be met with resistance, but to these professional naysayers it’s just on to the next site to scare the living hell out of them now that this one got approved.
YOU CANNOT CREATE WATER JUST BECAUSE A DATA CENTER “NEEDS” IT.
You might remember Marble Hill. I worked salvage after that debacle shut down and learned then and there that assuming the "powers that be" have done their homework is naive.
Do these data centers HAVE to be near population areas...could they not all be in remote areas near rivers? Just a dummy asking here
You would have said the same thing about automobiles in 1898.
What power problems. Just plug it into the wall. Problem gone.
“Just plug it into the wall. Problem gone.”
Yep, that’s the liberal la-la land solution. Just like meat and other food just magically shows up on the grocery store.
71% of the surface of the earth is water. There is no water shortage, only a lack of engineering. Modern data centers recycle water, so it is all just leftists anti-growth, environmentalist propaganda. Don’t fall for it.
Not a dummie question at all, I feel the same way.
If water is needed in such vast amounts for cooling then why isn’t Michigan lined with them is my questioning, make the state the AI center of the world and it won’t matter one bit.
Wisconsin as well.
And the legislature has created a mafia of monsters they are afraid of.
You are pretty much describing the project the article is about. Coweta OK, pop 9,000, on the Arkansas river.
So it is @ 26 miles from Tulsa...here in Oregon I think most of data centers are 75 to 100 miles from Portland...near lots of wind machines
Go 10 miles in any direction form Tulsa and there is nothing. Anything getting built out there is a positive.
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