Why one city embraces its data center

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: We're going to begin with it. We've got an exclusive look. You know we love when that happens at a data center amid this nationwide backlash. A lot of conversation about this. Recent CBS News exit poll found that more than half of the midterm voters said that AI and data centers were crucial or a major factor in their vote for Congress. So data centers have been around for decades before the AI explosion. Jolene Kent visited one facility built before the shift to AI with a much smaller footprint on the environment. Local officials say that kind of data center doesn't have to be a bad thing. [00:00:36] Speaker 2: Nationwide, voters overwhelmingly rejected rapid data center expansion in the midterms. The data centers represent the one fight that this election is about. [00:00:47] Paul Worley: I do not work for data centers. [00:00:49] Speaker 2: We can stop these data center companies. But in rural Quincy, Washington, three hours east of Seattle, residents are telling a different story. [00:00:59] Paul Worley: It's just been a kind of a boom. [00:01:01] Speaker 2: Quincy Mayor Paul Worley says since Microsoft moved in two decades ago, the town has built a new high school, new hospital, and more. [00:01:09] Paul Worley: And that's all because of the additional tax revenue from the data centers. [00:01:14] Speaker 2: Microsoft President Brad Smith brought us inside this data center for a closer look. [00:01:19] Brad Smith: Every time we tap on our phone, if it's connecting to an app, it's pulling data from something like this. [00:01:27] Speaker 2: Microsoft started here 20 years ago. Does that model still work? Could it work for other communities? It's two decades old. [00:01:36] Paul Worley: I think it does still work. It is the model to which we're committed. Everywhere we go, we have one pledge to the community. [00:01:43] Speaker 2: Which is? [00:01:43] Paul Worley: Basically, we will put the community first. We will not do anything that will increase the electricity rates of our neighbors. We will ensure that we replenish more water. We put more water back into the community than we use. [00:01:58] Speaker 2: Microsoft chose Quincy because of hydropower from the nearby Columbia River. Since then, seven other companies have moved in. The Grant County Public Utility says electricity rates per kilowatt hour have gone up by about 55% in the last 20 years. That's less than state and national averages. Now there's about two dozen data centers in the area. Some folks have been asked to leave their homes to make room for new power transmission. Things have changed. Not always for the better. Do you think Microsoft is responsible for that? [00:02:32] Paul Worley: We're best served when we, frankly, just sign up to being responsible to thinking broadly. So, yes. Yeah. It may or may not be the electrical line that's bringing electricity to our data center, but we're part of this industry. And you can take steps to manage growth well. And I think that is really our fundamental responsibility. [00:02:53] Speaker 2: Microsoft says it employs 700 people in Quincy, a town of about 8,000, as nationwide pushback grows. What do you say to the millions of people out there who are saying, no, thank you, I do not want a data center in my backyard? [00:03:08] Paul Worley: Give us a chance to talk through what we want to do and give us a chance to prove that we can do this in a way that will put the community first. We have to persuade you, but the people that you've elected, they're the ones who are going to make a decision, not us. [00:03:28] Speaker 2: The anti-data center reaction in the midterms appears to already be having an impact right after the election. You might have seen this. Open AI said it will stop using NDAs with officials and that it will show residents' construction plans and impacts on traffic, noise and lighting. But looking at the bigger picture, that anti-data center sentiment comes down to getting answers for your community. So the experts are telling us, ask these three questions if you have a data center coming to your neighborhood. First, what type of technology is being used for cooling? Two, how big will this data center be? And three, how it's going to get its electricity? You want to show up at these town meetings armed with information. For sure. Know about what has happened to home values in your area. What about the noise, the lighting? All of this matters. And then think, is this something I really want in my community? Don't be afraid to speak up. How many jobs will it create? Or are the jobs just temporary? Exactly. How long is that economic impact going to be? You saw in Quincy, 700 jobs. But to construct those data centers, it was a lot more jobs before that. [00:04:36] Speaker 1: And are my bills going to go up? That's what everybody wants to know. Exactly. That's going to happen in my bill. Electricity. [00:04:40] Speaker 2: And show me the evidence. And these companies deserve to be asked these questions because it really does impact your community so much. [00:04:49] Brad Smith: This is good information, helping these communities become a little bit more equipped. Absolutely. Get the right questions. Get the right answers. [00:04:55] Speaker 1: Don't be afraid. I'd like his take, too. Give us a chance. Let us answer the questions that you have and see if it meets, see if those answers satisfy you. Yeah, we're starting to see some kind of shift here. Yeah. All right. Awesome. Jolene, thank you so much as always.