The Data Center Debate: Fact vs. Fiction

goldwaterinstitute.org ^ | April 13, 2026 | Goldwater Institute

[PROCON]

The digital economy runs on data centers, a vital core of modern infrastructure most people never see. But there’s a debate brewing about data centers, with plenty of misinformation aimed at slowing data center development and, in some cases, halting it altogether. The Goldwater Institute has put together the following Free-Market Guide to Data Center Infrastructure to dispel some of the data center misconceptions.

Is it just “Big Tech” that needs data centers? What is really driving their growth?

No, it’s not just about “Big Tech.” Data centers are the 21st-century version of a power plant or water tower, providing the essential “digital flow” for every sector of the modern economy.

Hospitals rely on data centers for real-time access to electronic health records; banks use them to process millions of secure transactions per second; and manufacturing plants deploy them to power smart assembly lines. Every time you back up a photo, use GPS, stream a show, or when a student accesses an online portal for homework, a data center is involved.

Since every digital action requires a physical home, data centers need immense scale to support the global economy. What looks like an oversized warehouse is a highly engineered environment housing tens of thousands of servers operating with near-zero downtime. This necessitates specialized cooling, high-capacity fiber, and massive on-site power distribution. By building on large campuses, developers can grow in phases to meet the skyrocketing demand for AI and cloud computing while maintaining a predictable, high-value footprint.

Are data centers “resource hogs” that will drain local water supplies?

No, this claim is outdated and ignores modern technological innovation.

Data centers are among the most water-efficient industrial facilities ever built. Nationwide, data centers consume less than 0.05 percent of total U.S. freshwater withdrawals, a tiny fraction compared to agriculture, thermoelectric power generation, and manufacturing. Furthermore..

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Society
KEYWORDS: ai; datacenters

[PROCON]

As we all know the data center debate is upon us, the Goldwater Institute delves into this debate and presents very good information as to the positives of and the importance of data centers, what say you?

[RightOnTheBorder]

Anything built by the big boys, Meta, Google, Microsoft, etc. will use closed loop cooling designs with dry coolers. They will use about as much water as a golf course for 2 months when they start up and fill their systems. A full system flush later on is also a rare event. Then they pay the electric utility to build them dedicated power plants.

If utility bills go up after a DC it’s because your utilities and government are corrupt and refuse to use the hundreds of millions of dollars they receive to upgrade their systems.

[WXRGina]

Thanks, ProCon!

[SpaceBar]

Fact: major tech companies are spending millions on lobbying, Super PACs, and targeted ad campaigns to counter the growing local and national backlash against data centers.

[lasereye]

China is trying to block our data centers. I suspect that some of the anti-data center posts on these threads are from people working with the Chinese. For example on one of my posts on this topic, someone popped up to say that his electric bill had gone up 17% because of data centers. I asked what state they were in. No answer.

[ducttape45]

I'm sorry, but I am in the camp of those vehemently opposed to data centers. They are bad for the environment, they use up and destroy the water supply, they are bad the health of anyone in close proximity. Closed loop systems still contaminate the water supply. That's what's happening out in Cheyenne, Wyoming now.

So no, the US already has over 4500 data centers now, more than any other country on the face of the planet. If the world wants more data centers, build them somewhere else, any place but here.

[escapefromboston]

Build them next to the tech CEO’s house

[EQAndyBuzz]

I am a Project. Manager for data center construction. It’s all about power resources. Now it’s triple the amps needed vs 10 years ago.

[BipolarBob]

Mine went up 20% after a Data Center went in and I live in the Guizhou county of Texas.

[ducttape45]

Sorry, but I am not working with the Chinese, and I am adamantly against the construction of any more data centers here in the US. And for the record, I am from Indiana which has provided the most incentives of any state in the US for companies to build here, and yes, the utility rates are skyrocketing here. My rates have risen over 50% in just the past few years since a data mining facility was allowed to be built just four blocks away from where I live.

The county where I live, Miami, is battling our local government which wants to let more of them to come in and built. The residents don't want it, but the government is slow to listen.

[1FreeAmerican]

COLOSSUS V.2

[eastexsteve]

Funny how this article never mentions crypto-mining.

[RightOnTheBorder]

Fact: major tech companies are spending millions on lobbying, Super PACs, and targeted ad campaigns to counter the growing local and national backlash against data centers.

Why wouldn’t they? They have to counter chicom propaganda, eco-communists and politicians who smell a payday, utilities that want a scapegoat to cover their incompetence and corruption, an a populace capable of such idiocy they will elect democrats.

[PROCON]

My electric bill has gone from $84/mth (one-bed apartment) to $146/mth over the past 11 years with the basic same KW/H usage.

Reason: I live in Washington state and all the time tested power sources, coal, hydro-electric, natural gas are being replaced by inefficient & expensive to build & maintain "Green renewables".

Also this state makes sure everyone is tithing to the climate-change religion so they came up with the Climate Commitment Act scam to further take money out of our pockets.

I'd move but I'm too old....*Sigh*

[jerod]

The one thing that humans never need to worry about... Is water.

We are literally swimming in it... 71% of our planet’s surface is covered in water, most of it salty... But with desalination we could use all of it... That being said, only 3% of our water is actually drinkable... And we’ve been drinking that 3% for the last several million years... And it’s still stands at 3%... But just in case... There is always the ability to desalinate that other 68% that currently isn’t drinkable.

In the end... We are never going to run out of water. Period!

[1FreeAmerican]

A more correct reference to power usage would be watts.

In this case kilowatts, or even megawatts.

Most folks don’t really understand what an “amp” is. But they know kW from their electric bill - especially when it’s going UUUUP!

[napscoordinator]

I’d like to have some punitive action taken for any city or state that decides they don’t want data centers built. China certainly isn’t having that problem. I’d like to either have Internet cease to exist in the state or city that won’t allow data centers or all federal funding stop immediately forever or until they smarten up and allow for building of data centers. I don’t care which punitive action they use as long as they use one of those. It might wake up the stupid people.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

BINGO!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“government is slow to listen”

LOL...understatement of the year. Try stopping wind farms or data centers. Good luck with that.

[Reily]

You realize we’ve reduced electrical generating capacity significantly over the last 10 years. In many cases replacing it with power generated from green fantasy. Now that that has for the most part stopped. Mothballed power plants and building new power plants has only just started. They don’t pop out of the ground instantly and start producing power.

Demand data centers bring their own power. Any excess power they can sell to the grid.