Interview: Rob Simpson, CEO of CenterState CEO, talks debate on CNY data centers

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: A big battle is brewing in backyards all across New York State including right here in Central New York over data centers. Rob Simpson CEO and Center State [00:00:09] Speaker 2: CEO joins us now to talk about the issue and got an interesting take on this. Thanks for being here really appreciate it. Thanks for having me. So let's start here. You just wrote an op-ed. It's one of the reasons why I asked you to come in and kind of along the lines of starts out that New York has already positioned itself as a leader in advanced technology industries. So how does this [00:00:30] Rob Simpson: whole data center issue kind of work with that? Yeah I mean I think you know during the course of my 20 plus year career we've seen New York completely reposition itself in the global economy from a from a region of the country that was losing jobs considered part of the lagging rust belt economy and now forefront front and center with Micron and global foundries Wolfspeed and other advanced technologies that are taking root all across the Thruway corridor. We know that AI advanced technology innovation is shaping the future. New York State has fought hard to put itself back in the conversation with some of the world's leading technology companies and here we are in a moment where this debate is happening about the impact of data centers on our local communities, the impact of AI on human beings and jobs and it's a very interesting complex and nuanced conversation that I think New York needs to be a part of. All right [00:01:21] Speaker 1: interesting complex but there's a lot of concern about it fear if if you want to say that let's call it just there's fear about it. What is the harm in New York State putting a pause on data center development? I just think from a public [00:01:37] Rob Simpson: policy perspective I think the opportunity is is you know is not for New York to say no. New York actually doesn't need a moratorium to say no. You look at local communities places like Lysander and Clay who've been very clear publicly that they don't want data centers in their backyard that is their prerogative. At the same time from the state's perspective we are messaging to to industry all the time about New York being open for business. A moratorium on AI and in data centers in particular I think sends the wrong message. I think the right message is for New York to take a moment and articulate what it needs and wants out of conversations with the hyperscalers, the large companies that are building these data centers to extract more value and and help New York not just be host to these data centers but to be a partner in the AI economy. So how do we do that [00:02:26] Speaker 2: though Rob? I mean you would almost sound like we put a moratorium in place pause try to come up with that framework but we don't necessarily need a moratorium. How would it come up and ask the right questions and make sure we are protecting while still um when appropriate having these data centers in for the [00:02:43] Rob Simpson: communities that want them? I think there's really three critical components to this conversation I'm sure there are more but in the piece that I wrote really three elements the first is around the energy grid we're all experiencing rising energy prices and there is fear very real fear from individuals and from companies that citing data centers is going to drive their energy costs out of control. We need to ensure that when and where these projects come online that they are bringing more capacity to the energy grid more flexibility more stability to the energy grid than they are taking that's a conversation that is that's a conversation that's ongoing. The second is really around the environment and we see a lot of the negative feedback around data centers come as it relates to what are they putting back into the water how much water are they using again I think this is an area where New York State has a long history of demanding environmental innovation from companies that do business in New York and we've seen it with Micron we've seen it with other advanced industries I see no reason why we can't do that here and the third bucket and the one that I'm the most interested in is how does New York capture more of the shared value that we create from these data centers the value from a data center is not the 50 or 100 jobs that they bring to your community the value in a data center is what gets exported around the world it's the compute power inside that facility that's what I want to figure out how New York can capture a greater share of to support our research institutions and our local governments our innovation economies and [00:04:08] Speaker 1: the human beings who live in our backyard. And can communities ask for specifics like to be tailored to their own wants and needs? I think communities [00:04:18] Rob Simpson: this is the beautiful part about this I think communities can ask for anything they want we are in a two-way conversation with the companies that are looking to cite these data centers there is no reason to simply accept what is being offered I think New York is this is sort of the premise of the argument New York has regained the right to negotiate at a very high level with some of the most sophisticated companies in the world we should articulate what our values are that we're not willing to compromise we should articulate what portion of the value we want to capture from the AI economy and we should allow the private market to determine whether or not New York is a is a great place to do business as it relates to as it relates to artificial intelligence and [00:04:56] Speaker 2: beyond. Really thought-provoking stuff I'm glad we had you in here I think we'll have to continue this conversation another time to still a lot more to get to but this is a great first start thank you so much. Thank you so much. Download the WSYR Plus app on your TV to stream News Channel 9 for free. Just go to your smart TV search WSYR Plus in the App Store and download to start streaming today.