Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

redfin.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 327 posts

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#121

Post by MasterScrat »

e40 wrote: post #70
redlewel wrote: post #30

I think this is because the demand is so extreme for datacenters now that companies are building them in a manner that disrupts the environment around them. The newer ones are using on-site generators that are insanely loud and require multiples more power than datacenters have historically needed. For a rack with traditional servers with just RAM/CPU/Drives, 5kW is sufficient in most cases. When you have racks that…

> I think this is because the demand is so extreme for datacenters now Point to _any_ analysis that says the current building boom is anything but speculation. xAI is renting out their DC space. I think I read that Google is, too. DC buildout is purely a gold rush. A play to be the one left standing after all the weaker players die.

> xAI is renting out their DC space. I think I read that Google is, too.

You’re probably thinking of Meta. Google renting GPUs is a less recent phenomenon, to say the least.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#122

Post by artisinal »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #65

IMO NIMB should be illegal, so long as the builder meets standards. Maybe those standards should rise to include ambient noise requirements, heat dissipation, capital contributions to water/electricity supply, additional tax burden points (for land use without, maybe?). But I also feel there needs to be an assertion that if you own the land it's your property and you're free to do most things with it, safely and poli…

Good luck upgrading your home’s electrical service to charge an EV, only to be told it’s impossible because the nearby data center has already consumed all the available grid capacity.

Happened to family of mine. Not in the US though. They charge their EV with a 3kW charger now.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#123

Post by dylan604 »

linksnapzz wrote: post #87
trollbridge wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about that? I can't think of any bread bakeries pulling 2.2 gigawatts, which is us-east-1 pulls.

There are industrial bakeries that burn that much natural gas (powerwise); although the bakery probably smells better.

I can attest for the smells better. Now, I'm left wondering which smells worse, an AI datacenter or a large beer brewery. As a kid, we had a Mrs. Baird's bread bakery which was in the heart of town that students would take field trips to see (which is no longer there and is now apartments). On the other side of town is a Budweiser plant, and it's infamous for being so odorific but it is located way the hell out there.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#124

Post by dylan604 »

cpburns2009 wrote: post #72
trollbridge wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about that? I can't think of any bread bakeries pulling 2.2 gigawatts, which is us-east-1 pulls.

If you're complaining about us-east-1, you either moved into its backyard or didn't know it existed there for 20 years.

Don't think there was a complaint as you're interpreting. It was just an example of known power usage.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#125

Post by enraged_camel »

gortok wrote: post #16
chasd00 wrote: post #7

No one ever cared about DCs before now. I think there’s a lot of social media influence from nation state competitors going on to try and slow SOTA development in the US. Ironically, There’s enough issues with the DC buildout going on that even with 100% public opinion support it would still be significantly delayed. The behind the meter power generation isn’t going well. There’s only so many gas fired turbines on th…

> I think there’s a lot of social media influence from nation state competitors going on to try and slow SOTA development in the US. This comes cross as unbelievable, and at worst a fantastical statement, as someone who lives in Northern Virginia and is effectively watching the Datacenter battle unfold from the front lines, and dealing with the local politics and electricity costs rising at a precipitous rate. Our el…

>> This comes cross as unbelievable, and at worst a fantastical statement

You can read some of the recent reporting here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/business/china-russia-ai-...

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#126

Post by GhastBartender »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #66
grim_io wrote: post #35

Your dad's data centers are very different to the new GPU focused beasts. The AI data centers consume a lot more power, and thus generate a lot more heat(equals cooling noise) per square meter. This is the reason why it's a new problem right now. Edit: autocorrect used breasts instead of beasts.

I hear and understand those, but why isn't it a regulation or requirements issue? Ambient noise must be contained, excess heat must be mitigated, free hot water must be provided to nearby buildings. etc. Also this is a city's opportunity to do something like assess penalty tax points. (ie, datacenter usage tax, just like we do to hotels)

> but why isn't it a regulation or requirements issue?

It's America. They don't do regulations there.

The more serious answer is that this political movement is leading to more strict regulation being enacted, it just wasn't in place because of reason #1 and the problems being much less severe.

Additionally, the tech industry is notoriously hostile to any kind of regulation. Especially now with AI. Just look at how many people in this thread will insist that it's "Chinese Propaganda", despite clear evidence that this is just a response to the actual problems datacenters cause. One news crew interviewing people with jet turbine noise will do more than a million of Beijing's finest trolls.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#127

Post by 1970-01-01 »

adamrezich wrote: post #119
1970-01-01 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A: Because they can get away with it.

[flagged]

I don't know what agenda you're going with, but it isn't reality. They're destroying water tables. I'll leave this link here for you to read if you're brave enough to step outside your Captain Planet cartoon narrative and have an actual look at the water consumption problem.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-cent...

Or if you prefer; a much deeper non-vibecoded, scientific source with lots of citations: https://www.amazon.com/Growth-Centers-Impact-Global-Resource...

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#128

Post by whalesalad »

I would flip my bitch switch if a datacenter was stood up near me, where I could hear it. I am on 5 acres in rural Michigan surrounded by peace and quiet. I specifically came here for this reason. At the same time, I understand that we need datacenters. And tbh, Michigan is under-served in this space (ex, most of my queries thru the Cloudflare network have to go to Chicago first), and I wish we had more. But not close to residential areas. Not on top of valuable farmland.

My wacky idea was that datacenters should be built on EPA superfund sites. It becomes a win-win. Datacenter gets land that humans cannot occupy, helps/funds partial cleanup, slaps a big ass concrete building down on top of the rest of the mess and kills two birds with one stone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites

Also thoughts of mine recently: why are we not doing subterranean datacenters, why are we not doing tall/skinny skyscraper like datacenters (versus enormous sprawling warehouse-style).

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#129

Post by qurren »

toast0 wrote: post #109
qurren wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They need to hire IT, maintainence, and security to run the datacenters, and there aren't many qualified people in the boonies. Small towns are better targets, and honestly also just objectively less damaging to the environment. None of this NIMBYism is about the datacenter itself, it's all a protest against AI making the economy really shitty for them.

You need on the order of 15 permanent onsite employees to run a datacenter; 5 each for 24/7 coverage of security, building maintenance, and tech. You probably don't really need 24/7 onsite for building maintenance or tech. Traveling employees or (probably traveling) contractors can handle projects that exceed the local scope. Should be able to locally source security and building maintenance, if the pay is good. Thes…

I don't consider 30 minutes away from town the "boonies", that's more like a normal commute. The boonies would be like a 3 hour drive in the Sonora desert.

Re: Most Americans say "not in my backyard" to AI data centers

#130

Post by jacobgkau »

dylan604 wrote: post #112
itsrobreally wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Nashville they messed up by trying to build one next to the zoo, a beloved and popular attraction (higher attendance than our NFL franchise). The public outcry was swift and effective, new zoning rules were passed last night. https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/07/21/nashville-data-center...

That's great for future sites, but how is that going to improve the zoo's situation?

From reading the article, it sounds like one of the three items passed was an extension of a moratorium on data center building specifically for the area around the zoo. Another item involves eminent domain for the city to buy the land next to the zoo for use as city office space instead. So it pretty directly impacts the zoo's situation.
Post reply on HN