Utopia Talk / Politics / Data center: 50,000 told to fuck off

murder rank	Wed May 13 23:27:13 Utility Provider Cutting Electricity for 50k Lake Tahoe Residents to Power AI Data Centers Lake Tahoe residents may soon lose access to their electricity. NV Energy will stop service to homes in the next year, and instead direct that electricity to the growing demand from Nevada data centers. Energy Diversion: NV Energy – the Nevada utility company that has supplied most of Lake Tahoe’s electricity for decades – has informed Lake Tahoe's Liberty Utilities that intends to will stop delivering power to the region sometime after May 2027, forcing the provider responsible for servicing 50k area residents to scramble for replacement energy sources. Data Center Demand: Northern Nevada has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing AI infrastructure hubs, with Google, Apple, and Microsoft expanding operations around the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center near Reno. Climate group "Western Resource Advocacy" estimates that 12 proposed data center projects in Northern Nevada will demand nearly 5,900 megawatts of electricity by 2033, a staggering increase tied directly to AI compute growth. Locals Abandoned: Tahoe residents and energy advocates say the region is being sacrificed to support industrial-scale AI expansion. “It’s like we don’t exist,” Danielle Hughes – the CEO of consumer electricity advocacy group "Tahoe Spark" – told Fortune. The changes are anticipated to take place in May 2027, creating an uncertain future for leisure activities one of America's largest ski and recreation areas. https://ww...electricity-50k-175700743.html
Sam Adams rank	Thu May 14 00:56:35 I mean this is an easy solution. No new ai data centers without their own power source.
Rugian rank	Thu May 14 02:48:27 The problem is that data centers are a goldmine for municipalities/counties in terms of the property taxes they generate. So officials love these projects. In a lot of markets across the country, we're seeing non-data center projects where we're being told that the utility company can't give you more than a bare minimum of service capacity unless you can show a definite need for more...and even then it can be months before the hookup can occur. We're not talking any crazy requirements here either, well less than 10,000 amps. So yeah. Data centers are the big asshole bullies of CRE right now...but local officials will continue to love them until they start getting too much heat from the public.
Hrothgar rank	Thu May 14 15:53:05 Not really. Datacenters always cut insane deals with state and local govs that help them avoid most taxes for decades, at which point they will be obsolete and shut down anyhow. The local population never seeing any significant benefit as they employ so few people to maintain.
Rugian rank	Thu May 14 16:02:23 Maybe in Utah. And even then you're leaning VERY heavily on that "always."
Rugian rank	Thu May 14 16:10:44 Here's Loudon County in northern VA absolutely glazing revenue from data centers for example: "How does data center revenue affect the residents of Loudoun County? The data center industry in Loudoun County has generated substantial tax revenue for the community through personal property tax on the computer equipment located inside the data centers. Loudoun County has received an unprecedented amount of revenue through this single source. As a result, Loudoun County has been better positioned financially than most other localities in the region. Loudoun County has utilized the available revenue from the data center industry in a number of ways. The revenue has enabled the county to reduce the real property tax rate for homeowners every year for the past decade; the current real property tax rate is the lowest in northern Virginia. Additionally, the revenue from data centers has enabled the Board to propose reducing the personal property tax rate on vehicles beginning in tax year 2026 and enabled the Board to eliminate the $25 vehicle license fee. Data center revenue has also enabled the Board of Supervisors to fund the needs of Loudoun County Public Schools, including funding budget increases for the schools amounting to tens of millions of dollars year-over-year. This revenue source has also enabled Loudoun County to meet the public safety needs of the community, funding resources for the Sheriff’s Office and Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Revenue from data centers has also funded many programs and services provided by Loudoun County to the community, including libraries, parks, recreation and community centers, and critical services in the areas of child protection and mental health. The Board of Supervisors has also funded capital improvements, such as schools, roads, bridges, and a broad range of facilities. All of these expenditures were made possible while simultaneously lowering the real property tax rate for homeowners. https://www.loudoun.gov/m/faq?cat=241#question-1793
Forwyn rank	Thu May 14 16:58:54 This area is one of the best in the country for average luminosity and has high elevation and clear skies. Solar is cheaper than ever. They should be required to produce their own network.
murder rank	Thu May 14 20:15:08 People don't need electricity any more than they need water. Americans need to quit whining and be grateful that data centers are being fed and cooled so that billionaires can have their anatomically functional AI humanoid robots. -
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