Residents of Wilmington, Ohio, are speaking out against a proposed Amazon data center in their community.
What's happening?
The Wilmington Planning Commission held a meeting to address residents' concerns about a proposed Amazon data center, resulting in the tabling of the request to approve the site (at least for the time being).
Over 40 residents attended the meeting, according to Fox 19, and spoke one by one to voice their concerns, which included a lack of transparency throughout the proposal process and unwanted noise and air pollution.
One resident said, per the publication, "I don't think it's right to all of these people who have lived here for all of these years, like myself, who have invested our life savings into this farm to build something like this right here. I don't see the upside to this, I see this as more of an experiment."
Why are data centers concerning?
While the Amazon data center project would see the community receive a $4 billion investment from Amazon Web Services and a $25 million fund for public infrastructure, while also creating approximately 100 jobs, the concerns of Wilmington residents are valid.
The project would take up around 471 acres near residential areas, farmland, and businesses, potentially resulting in some homeowners or farmowners being bought out of their land and homes to make way for the center.
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Additionally, the data center plans to use 252 diesel generators, which would run for roughly 18 hours a day, seven days a week. The pollution from these generators would significantly reduce air quality in the area, increasing the risk of respiratory issues for residents.
According to Conimby, scientists estimated that data centers in California could trigger roughly 600,000 asthma attacks by 2030.
Those generators would also create constant noise pollution for nearby residents, disrupting their daily lives.
The United States has seen a $4.5 billion increase in healthcare costs related to data centers, according to the American Policy Center, which strains local health systems, particularly in rural areas with limited public health infrastructure.
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$200 or more 💰 Data centers put strain on electrical grids, too, as they consume massive amounts of energy. This could increase utility bills for residents and result in more frequent outages.
Large facilities also need up to 5 million gallons of water a day to maintain operations, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, which could reduce freshwater supplies for residents.
What's being done about the Wilmington Amazon data center?
Although the Wilmington Planning Commission tabled the request to approve the data center after the meeting, the project is still developing, and no final decision has been made.
The commission plans to hold more meetings in the next several months to continue discussing the proposal.
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