Data Centers on Ag Land
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The U.S. tech industry is continuing a push for more land for data centers in rural areas, and it’s causing some farmer pushback.
Vice President J.D. Vance says there's good news and bad news with data centers. And, on the good side …
VANCE … “They're big facilities. You create a lot of construction jobs, and in this next generation of the technological revolution, you need those data centers to make them run. Those data centers are like the gasoline of the technology revolution that we're going to see over the next 75 years.”
Vance says he wants America to win that technology revolution, but on the down side …
VANCE … “If those centers are built and the local governments aren't ensuring that there's enough power for those data centers, then it's increase electricity costs for everybody else.”
Vance says the federal government is working to make data centers a less expensive investment for rural residents …
VANCE … “What we think the data centers have got to do is they've got to work with the local governments, with the state governments, and in the federal government, we are trying to do everything that we can so that if you build a data center, for example, you can just build a power plant right next door.”
Vance says it just makes sense …
VANCE … “What I think we ought to be working towards is you build those data centers, and electricity costs come down for American citizens instead of going up for American citizens.”
Vance says the data centers can afford to be good neighbors by supplying lower priced power.
