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Data Centers Developments: Pros & Cons

As with any issue, there are both risks and opportunities associated with the potential development of data centers in Andrew County. 

I have learned that data center developments can vary a great deal in how they operate and the size of the footprint they could leave on our county landscape. Some potential data center projects may require a tract of land under a hundred acres while other projects may require 300 to 400 acres of land or more. 

One thing that is necessary for any data center project is a large, readily available source of electricity.  Therefore, data centers tend to be located near electrical transmission lines that can provide the high quantities of power needed to operate these facilities. 

Numerous electrical transmission lines throughout Andrew County are capable of providing this kind of power. 

Furthermore, Andrew County does not have county-wide planning and zoning and offers convenient fiber-optic accessibility and reliable water infrastructure. It’s no wonder that Andrew County is appealing to potential developers.

Data Ceneter Advantages

• Data center developments offer enticing economic and financial incentives for numerous entities in our county.  Data center projects can range from hundreds of millions of dollars on the low end up to 2 or 3 billion dollars or more, depending on project size. An investment like this could increase revenues for the county, school districts, fire districts, the library district, and many other entities within the county that receive revenue from voter-approved levies. Such increased county revenues may allow for reduced levy rates in the future.
• Since data centers operate continuously and the technology landscape evolves rapidly, maintaining equipment is essential. Companies running data centers will likely upgrade and replace equipment more frequently than most other industries, leading to continued growth of assessed valuations and resulting revenues.
• While the long-term impact on employment is not great (operation of these facilities does not require a large workforce), the initial construction of data centers could offer significant short-term employment opportunities for our local workforce.

Data Center Disadvantages

• Data centers require high amounts of electricity (and water, depending how companies plan to cool their facilities and equipment). As a side effect, they could increase the rates residential consumers pay for utilities.  Currently, the Missouri State Legislature is considering several bills to address this issue. One proposed bill would require the County Commission’s approval before a data center can be developed within county boundaries. This would give the commission an opportunity to address and rectify any potential utility rate impacts that may result from such a development.
• Data center facilities can be big, noisy, and unsightly. Housing lots of computer processing equipment, data centers require substantial climate control. This could translate to lots of noisy HVAC equipment installed outside the facility, which might be unsettling to neighboring property owners. Additionally, data center facilities often have numerous backup generators to ensure continuous operation in the case of a power failure.  Even without a power failure, standard operating procedures require generators to be run periodically to ensure they are operating properly, further contributing the high noise levels.
• Security of data centers will be a high priority for developers. It is reasonable to expect security fencing and lighting surrounding a data center development, which could be off-putting to neighboring property owners.