Many neighboring jurisdictions have either placed moratoriums on data centers or are at least publicly considering them. We at The Tribune have noticed. We’ve also noticed the eerie silence from Reno County elected officials, specifically the Reno County Board of Commissioners. So we’re wondering what their stance on data centers really is. Here’s ours. Reno County can do better than becoming a data center dump.
Data centers were once the golden child of economic development and growth across the country and the world, as jurisdictions went out of their way to attract them a few years ago. Now resistance to data centers seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Between the massive amounts of electricity required to power them and the oceans of water required to cool them, data centers place a heavy burden on limited resources.
While the planned Evergy power plant in Reno County is a viable source of electricity for any potential data center, the electricity devoted to a data center is electricity that could be used to power the 1,000-plus new homes needed to meet the housing needs of the county at a reasonable cost. Research has shown that once construction of a data center is completed, the data centers themselves don’t create permanent jobs in proportion to the resources required to keep them operational. Yes, those jobs may be at the high end of the wage scale for the county, but there won’t be many of them.
The City of Hutchinson recently acquired additional water rights from Sonoco, which is great as water is an essential part of growth. But it needs to be judicious in how it uses that additional water to generate sustainable economic growth. Data centers are water hogs because of the amount of water required to properly cool them. Water concerns were raised by residents in the area surrounding the proposed golf resort east of Hutchinson, so if a proposed golf resort is enough to raise concerns about water, then a data center is surely enough to raise louder alarms. If a data center had a plan to reuse treated wastewater or recycle some of the water it uses, that might change the calculations slightly, but not enough to move the needle in our opinion.
Let’s not forget that oftentimes Reno County has offered property tax deferments and other incentives to attract business and generate economic growth. We understand that’s what it takes to be competitive in today’s market to attract businesses to relocate to Reno County. That’s simply how the game is played. We get that. However, we’d like to see those incentives used only for those businesses and industries that bring in substantial numbers of permanent jobs, unlike data centers.
We at The Tribune are pro growth, because we believe that Reno County is one of the best places in the country to live and work. With great schools, tons of things to do, and a variety of places to eat, clean, well-maintained roads and streets, and public employees and elected officials who serve with caring and pride, this truly is an amazing place to be. We’d like to keep it that way and see it grow through smart growth and economic development. We’d love to see economic growth that brings the next generation of Reno County residents to town and give them ample reasons to sink roots and stay. But we don’t see data centers doing that. We see data centers draining resources that are best used for smarter growth.
We’ve taken our stand on the issue, and we urge the Reno County Board of Commissioners to follow suit. Either join the surrounding jurisdictions in placing a moratorium on data centers or risk Reno County becoming a data center dump, which isn’t what those who elected you want, nor do we.
– The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board