It’s difficult to keep up with a world that seems to be running faster than you can pay attention to.
From the first computers that put us on the moon to a phone in our pockets, there’s no question that the digital age is here. With AI being implemented in virtually every corner of the Internet, we have, unfortunately, reached a tipping point of self-sustaining digital technology.
The newest race in the digital world is data centers. They are massive warehouses of computer servers that cover multiple acres and guzzle water and electricity like a blue-collar worker in the heat. The main contestants in this race are xAI, Meta, Alphabet Inc., Microsoft and OpenAI, as well as various other tech bros who want to capitalize on the hype.
In other words, one of these massive black holes of energy may be coming to your backyard.
The “winners” of this race are decided by having the biggest and most resource-devouring data centers. Instead of focusing on ways to reduce the amount of strain AI is having on the environment, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech billionaires have consolidated their focus on computational cost and data storage.
Data centers are not a new concept; previously, they were sustainable and maintained through the deletion of your data. AI data centers are GPU-focused to handle the massive workload AI needs to do things like data sifting and image recognition. Because AI data centers do more work, they need more power and water to cool the heat created.
One of these massive data centers, Hyperion, is already being built in northeast Louisiana. Meta signed a $10 billion deal to secure the rights to build on the Franklin Farm Mega Center in Holly Ridge, a small rural community in Richland Parish. The site will be directly off of I-20, on the 183 exit, and across from Holly Ridge Elementary School and Holly Ridge Rice and Grain.
When Hyperion is brought online in 2030, it will initially consume two gigawatts of power at maximum capacity per day, but eventually scale up to five gigawatts over the next few years. To put that in perspective, that is enough energy to power 1.6 million homes or three times the annual energy consumption of New Orleans.
Another data center is also being built in the state. The crypto mining company Hut 8 is building one north of Baton Rouge in West Feliciana Parish. It’s expected to consume at most 300 megawatts of power per day.
The environmental impacts data centers have can not be understated. Already, Meta’s data center in Georgia is polluting the residential water with dirt and sediment. To deal with the lack of water pressure from these data centers’ cooling systems, residents have to flush their toilets with buckets. They have to store water jugs to wash their dishes and clean their clothes.
With the rush to build these data centers to capitalize on growing demand, construction accidents have already taken place. Without proper government oversight, many of these companies will face no repercussions for their mistakes.
xAI, led by Elon Musk, recently built a data center in Memphis. It’s become one of Shelby County’s biggest polluters after just 11 months. The building spews smog from its 35 methane gas turbines that power the center because they are not fitted with pollution preventatives required by federal law.
Most of these data centers are being built in or around poor communities. Consequently, minority and struggling people are left without a voice. Governor Jeff Landry claimed the project is a huge reward for rural communities, saying the center will bring economic growth.
We will never know the truth because the people affected aren’t given a platform to voice their opinions because of their class and ethnicity. It’s cheap land, but it’s their home.
It is expected that Louisiana, which is already 2nd in energy consumption, will increase its consumption by 30%.
The main push for this project in Louisiana comes from one of our state’s biggest energy providers, Entergy. They will profit from the $3 billion contract given to them by the state legislature. If our communities don’t see price hikes initially, they will in the next 15 years.
Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis was the only member on the Public Service Commission to vote no at the board hearing. The other members signed off on Entergy’s proposal. You can find Entergy’s full proposal here.
While it’s said Meta will contribute a significant amount to offset costs, the board found Entergy had no way to hold Meta accountable for the payments. The high energy demands Hyperion requires will be provided through three natural gas power plants. They’ll meet these demands, even though they’re also promising to add 1500 megawatts of solar energy by 2050.
“Entergy should not be allowed to use its monopoly structure to unreasonably impose financial risks on its existing captive ratepayers to serve the new data center load, while it reaps the return-on-equity benefits to be gained from the unprecedented billions of new infrastructure spending,” wrote the Louisiana Energy Users Group, a coalition of companies including ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical.
This rush job of a project will only lead to oversights that will cost the taxpayers of Louisiana more money and damage our already bleak living situations and environment.
While there are many positive things AI can do in medicine and research, the way it’s used now is neither sustainable nor cost-efficient. Big tech is taking a technology that could be lifesaving and selling it to the highest bidder as a way to downsize and cut costs.
They sell it to us as an invitation to “fulfill our dreams,” while trying to make us ignore the dangers these centers pose to our environment and our communities.
