US Election Ads Attack AI Data Centres

Voters are worried. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in June found that 77% of Americans feared data centres were pushing up electricity bills, and two-thirds of Democrats and half of Republicans said they would not want one nearby. Michael Franz, who studies political advertising, said the subject suits both parties: Democrats can raise environmental concerns, while Republicans can attack large corporations. Fox News reported that residents also complain about water use and the few permanent jobs created — a single centre can run with 50 employees or fewer.

Microsoft points to Quincy, a farming town of about 8,100 people in Washington state, where it built because land was cheap, the climate cool and the Columbia River full of hydroelectric power. Tax money from the centres has helped pay for a modern high school and a hospital, and the town recently opened a new swimming centre. A $31 million water-recycling plant saves about 138 million gallons a year, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Microsoft promises new sites will recycle cooling water and that it will cover its own electricity costs.