Data Center for Dummies - Facts & Questions Communities Should Ask
In the wake of the data center in Eden Landing, Hayward, I've noticed a lot of misinformation floating around, and one important question: Why do people oppose data centers in their communities?
In one sentence, a data center is a warehouse with thousands of computer servers arranged in racks. These servers need electricity, cooling, and backup power.
Data centers operate 24x7, 365 days. They never shut down.
Whether you tap your credit card, stream a movie, play a video game, or listen to music, a data center works to support that. So data centers aren't a new concept. The first data center was built in 1945.
So why does everyone have a problem with it now?
Answer: AI
Personal use: When you stream a movie on Netflix, a copy of the movie is delivered to your TV/laptop/phone from a Netflix data center closest to you. It involves predefined computing to find the right movie, authenticate your account, offer suggestions, track where you stop, and so on. Just like a librarian would find a book for you in a large library. The operation is predictable: store copies of a movie, retrieve a copy, play it for you. Thousands of users may be doing this simultaneously.
AI: When you use AI, you are often creating something new. "Create a movie with Tom Hanks flying from buildings; give it a happy ending; make it thrilling; MP4 format."
The AI models supported by servers at a data center are now functioning like a production house. The system performs complex and intensive computing operations, and an enormous amount of calculations to create something new. Thousands of users are giving AI different commands simultaneously.
That requires a lot of electrical energy. So backup generators are essential. Servers eventually heat up. So cooling systems are essential.
The backlash starts when this data center is built in a residential or commercial community.
Electricity consumption: A large data center can consume the same amount of electricity daily that a small or medium-sized city, around 80,000 houses, would use daily. High demands translate to higher electricity prices. This will affect your electricity bill no matter what the tech giant, the electrical company, or the politician says. Electricity prices in Virgina increased by 267% over the last five years; data centers have been the primary reason. All companies involved in building and running a data center offload the cost of massive energy consumption on the backs of residential consumers.
Water consumption: Roughly 75–90% of data centers worldwide rely on water-based cooling. The water used is potable, drinking water. Loudoun County, Virginia – the world’s largest data center hub – supplied around +/-1 billion gallons of water to data centers in 2023, mostly relying on treated potable water because reclaimed water capacity was insufficient. Data centers, like in South Carolina, have also resorted to groundwater.
Noise pollution: Backup power generators use diesel. A small generator can reach up to 85 decibels - a level that can harm hearing. "It sounds like someone set up a vacuum, like in your living room. And the vacuum is just... that thing needs to be cleaned ... the filter is clogged up, so it’s a high-pitch whining. And they just left it on and walked out", says a resident in Detroit. Residents in Virginia have reported constant headaches, sleeplessness, and effects on mental health.
Air pollution: Data centers are known to release PFAS or "forever chemicals". "Forever chemicals" can take up to 1,000 years to break down in the environment, and large concentrations are found in drinking water and food. The diesel generators used in data centers emit carbon monoxide and nitrious oxide - chemicals that are directly related to respiratory diseases.
Land trade-off: In 2024, the average data center site covered about 224 acres of land, about 450 football fields. A data center of that scale - or even smaller - can turn the city vibe into an industrial vibe. A 2026 George Washington University study examined homes in Northern Virginia and found that houses within 0.5 miles of an announced data center sold for approximately 2.8% less than otherwise comparable houses farther away. The question is, who would want to buy a house remotely close to a data center?
The nationwide uproar is not against a data center's technological value but its siting. A data center cannot coexist with homes, schools, and parks without causing irreversible damage.
The question is “What does this particular data center cost our community, what does it contribute, and who pays the difference?”
