Data Center Fails Perpetuate. But, What Are the Facts?

From REBIC

 

The story in Matthews is the same story everywhere. Proposed data centers are being rejected by communities across the board. The “Project Accelerate” data center in Matthews, NC was withdrawn by its developer, Crosland Southeast, following significant community opposition where residents voiced concerns over potential increases in electricity bills, noise, and water usage, which led to the developer withdrawing the rezoning application in early October 2025. It means some policy makers and residents alike are uneducated about how to include forward-thinking in their future planning. That is dangerous ground. Because we, as residents, have no intention of curbing our data use. Hospitals, large employers, transportation plans, schools, police, and more are all hungry for more bandwidth. But we can’t forget, the explosion of our digital world is also the key to economic health. Jobs, education, and research all rely on the expansion of data.

A Google result encapsulates the issue by saying “The demand for digital services like cloud computing, AI, and the internet is exploding. These facilities are the essential physical infrastructure to process, store, and distribute data. This growth is driven by the massive increase in data usage from online activities, the rise of remote work, and the computational power needed for AI models, requiring more capacity than existing data centers can provide.”

The pushback seems virtuous, but not quite heroic. Dgtl Infra 2.0 is just one site that talks about the concern. But they also give us realistic advice around how to approach a solution so we can also be effective. Yes, additional water needed for these centers is staggering and managing it is a true concern. Wholesale and retail data centers use approximately 18,000 gallons per day or 6.57 million gallons per year. Larger facilities publish usage numbers 20X that. Power grids have to expand to carry the load as well. But this isn’t something we should reject. Otherwise what we’re saying is we want the frosting, but we don’t want the calories.

So, then. How do we approach this problem with logic instead of being stuck in panic? Will this be another NIMBY crusade? We hope not.

McKinsey & Company, a leading voice in the data world, tells us the following. “States that can effectively plan, manage, and mitigate the risks of data center growth stand to unlock millions, perhaps even billions, of dollars in direct and indirect growth. At the same time, they can create high-paying jobs and establish themselves as leading digital-infrastructure hubs. Read more.”

 

Rob’s Take: This stalemate is one of REBIC’s top concerns because it touches every sector of our membership focusing on the issue of growth, water, sewer, and fair land use plans. And the fact is, increasing data needs are coming no matter what. The voices of those against these data centers speak fear and criticisms into the same sentences that insists their digital devices need to work fast, that health care breakthroughs should keep coming, and that their children must get the best education. As I’ve said before, if we don’t all come to the table with truth and plans, instead of emotion, we will be left out of the loop when it comes to providing high paying jobs, civic safety, and ongoing opportunity. We can’t have it both ways.