How do residents in Montgomery County, Maryland, feel about data centers? That was the big question during a Tuesday forum led by County Executive Marc Elrich.
It was designed to seek “input on local legislation and policies for data centers” in the county.
And people certainly let their feelings be heard.
“There needs to be a plan for obsolescence, because in three to five years, everything in there will be obsolete. All of it will have to be ripped out and it will go away as it is,” Mark Roth said, noting that he has a degree in computer and information systems and has spent 40 years in the field.
“It will take a year to two to build a large data center, and by that time, within a year or so, there’ll be a new generation of chips and a new generation of backplanes,” Roth said. “Everything will have to be replaced.”
Data centers, Roth said, “are a terrible idea.”
Silver Spring resident Aaron shared a similar view, specifically when it comes to utility costs, since data centers rely on local infrastructure.
“Quite candidly, these things are just going to put rocket fuel on all of those utility costs,” he said.
“That has to be the focus. The focus of these data centers cannot be county revenue,” he added. “It has to be revenue that goes back to residents in some fashion.”
Elrich himself mentioned energy concerns before the forum started.
“What are the consequences for us if data centers grow and electric power generation does not grow commensurate with that?” he said.
Other residents, such as Mikey Stotz, pointed out that data centers are on their way: “Just as cell towers, breweries, distilleries, wineries, agritourism and farm stays eventually came, many of the same voices that oppose those now oppose both data centers and community solar projects that could responsibly power them.”
“If policy is shaped by a tiny group that reflexively resists all change, we’re still going to end up in the same place. It’s just going to take a lot longer, cost more and cause more damage along the way.”
Carl Rios, a small-business owner, countered many others’ concerns regarding utility costs.
“There is a great opportunity here to partner with data centers to solve energy problems the county is already experiencing,” he said.
He suggested that buying energy could be part of the solution to take the strain off the local grid.
Questions and concerns can be sent to climate@montgomerycountymd.gov.
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