County Executive Dennis Gannon said he’s ready to welcome data centers to open in Jefferson County.
In an Oct. 15 press release, Gannon compared data centers to landmark innovations like railroads and interstate systems, adding that Jefferson County should be at the forefront of the tech industry.
“Just like those historic investments, (data centers) carry the potential to ignite unprecedented growth and prosperity,” Gannon said. “As America competes with China to determine who will dominate the future of technology and innovation, we can lead by building critical American infrastructure right here in the heartland.”
A data center is a building or group of buildings that houses routers, servers, switches, firewalls and storage systems, all used for computing. The centers can be large, like Google’s “hyperscale” data center in The Dalles, Ore., which includes 1.3 million square feet, the equivalent of 22 football fields, and employs about 200 operators; or small, such as a single cabinet in an office containing IT and infrastructure equipment and essentially one or even fewer operators.
A hyperscale data center uses thousands of servers and advanced networking to process enormous amounts of data. The system relies on high-speed networks, a powerful cooling system to manage heat output and automated software to continually run the system, according to Fortinet, a global cybersecurity company.
Recent proposed data centers in the area have been met with significant public opposition, with some concerned that the centers could lead to energy rate hikes, extensive water usage and pollution.
In St. Charles County in August, developers withdrew plans for a proposed hyperscale data center called Project Cumulus due to public backlash. Residents accused the developers of a lack of transparency and communication about the size and scale of the operation.
KSDK reported hundreds of St. Louis residents attended a town hall meeting on Oct. 14, voicing “overwhelming opposition” to a proposed $600 million data center in a parking lot near the vacant Armory entertainment center in the city.
Gannon said the addition of data centers in Jefferson County could offer benefits and compared the development of data centers to the Space Race in the 1960s, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed for supremacy in space.
“We cannot let China lead the world in the technology infrastructure of tomorrow while we stand still,” Gannon said. “Jefferson County has the chance to lead, to grow and to protect our way of life through bold and strategic investment. Of course, we must also take seriously the concerns many residents have about land use and community character. These are fair questions, and Jefferson County will be a full partner in making sure they’re addressed. Local input will be essential. We will only support proposals that are responsible, beneficial and aligned with our community values.”
Festus takes a stand
On Oct. 16, the Festus Planning and Zoning Commission took the first step to add data center regulations to its code. Building and Planning Director Mark Harris said the city does not have any applications or proposals for a data center; however, establishing rules on the centers will ensure Festus won’t be blindsided if and when a proposal comes in.
“It’s become a very topical issue,” he said. “Our zoning code currently does not well define a data center or regulate them at all. There’s no place where they generally fit. We want to bring to (the commission) a piece of legislation defining and regulating the industry.”
The commission voted 6-0 to recommend that the Festus City Council approve a number of regulations for data centers. Commissioners Clarence Tucker, Tim Bennett and Jim Tinnin were absent from the meeting.
The City Council will vote on the commission’s recommendations on Monday, Oct. 27.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held at 5:50 p.m. at City Hall, 711 West Main St., before the 6 p.m. meeting.
Under the proposed code for data centers, developers must comply with the following restrictions:
■ Developers must notify by mail all property owners of the proposed development within 1,000 feet of the property line. Commissioner Richard Belleville amended the code to change the distance from 400 feet to a minimum of 1,000 feet.
“A lot of times, the noise from the data centers, whether it be from the generator when it goes to a backup system or cooling fans, can be heard from a half mile away,” Belleville said. “If someone is going to be impacted by it, and they’re more than 400 feet away, but they hear it, then they would say, ‘I didn’t know this was going to happen.’”
■ Developers must schedule and attend neighborhood meetings to describe the project and proposed sound mitigation.
■ To advertise the meeting, developers must post a sign on the property at least 15 days in advance. Belleville amended the code to say that two signs must be posted on property larger than 100 acres.
“Sometimes, on a large parcel of land, one sign may not be sufficient,” he said.
■ The data center should be designed and built in such a way as to limit noise to 60 decibels measured at the property line. Harris said 60 decibels is about a normal talking level of noise.
■ Back-up generator testing should be limited to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
■ Any light fixtures on the property should be designed and built to “minimize glare, light trespass and spillover onto adjoining residential properties,” according to city documents.
Commissioner Sam Ogle said he has concerns about data centers in general, saying they “don’t sound like a good deal” for Festus.
“What I have read about these data centers is that they consume a huge amount of electricity every day, and they consume 300,000-400,000 gallons of water every day to keep their equipment cool,” he said. “This just sounds like a very chancy thing to get into. Data centers are not going to provide any jobs to the community, and all they’re going to do is provide a profit to the people who own them.”
A data center’s “water footprint” can be measured in many ways, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute: on-site water usage, water use from power plants that supply energy to the data centers and water use during the manufacturing process for computer chips.
Medium-sized data centers can “drink up” approximately 110 million gallons of water annually to keep their systems cool, according to the institute. Larger data centers can use up to 5 million gallons per day, or 1.8 billion annually, which is equivalent to the water usage of a town of 10,000-50,000 people, the institute said.
Willing county
Gannon said no developers have submitted plans to build data centers in the county yet, but he expects that will happen.
He said welcoming data centers could be a boon for the county, arguing that the development could bring in “more local tax revenue than almost any other kind of development” and create new construction jobs and permanent technology jobs.
Gannon anticipates millions of annual property and sales tax revenue from a data center, which, he said, could be used to hire more police officers, fix neglected roads and invest in new infrastructure, among other uses.
Gannon said Jefferson County will be ready to process any data center application that comes to the county, adding that the county’s current codes and regulations regarding developments in industrial zoning districts should be sufficient for processing a data center application.
For those concerned about energy rate hikes, Gannon cited Senate Bill 4, which went into effect on Aug. 28. He said the bill ensures data centers are responsible for paying for their own energy usage, with zero costs passed on to residents.
“They have to pay their own electric bill; they don’t get any help,” Gannon said. “We, the public consumers, are not helping them pay their energy bill.”
In an Oct. 15 letter to Ameren, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley expressed concerns that Ameren utility bill increases may be the direct result of data centers opening in the state.
“Families across Missouri are struggling to pay their bills,” Hawley said. “But I am concerned that Ameren is seeking dramatic rate increases in order to supply massive data centers and industrial users. Recent reporting indicates that Ameren cut electricity to thousands of Missouri households in September while simultaneously pursuing lucrative arrangements with corporate users.
“Missourians deserve affordable and reliable electricity. They should not be forced to subsidize corporate projects while struggling to keep their lights on.”