為什麼社區對資料中心持反對態度？
科技和數據政策專家表示，隨著資料中心的蓬勃發展，不斷上漲的電價、用水量和環境問題引發的擔憂不無道理
莉茲·米內奧
哈佛大學特約撰稿人
2026年4月9日
閱讀時間：8分鐘
資料中心遍布全美，這些資料中心容納著用於訓練人工智慧模型的電腦系統，其蓬勃發展得益於人們對人工智慧的濃厚興趣以及各州提供的稅收優惠。
目前已有超過4000個資料中心投入運營，主要集中在維吉尼亞州、德克薩斯州和加利福尼亞州，另有3000個正在規劃或建設中。
資料中心開發商和科技巨頭辯稱，這些項目透過創造新的就業機會和增加房產稅收入以及帶來未來的商業機會，使社區受益，並促進當地經濟發展。他們也指出，如果美國想要保持在全球人工智慧領域的領先地位，基礎建設就必須發展。
但根據皮尤研究中心最近的一項民意調查，民眾對資料中心（通常規模堪比倉庫）對社區帶來的大量用水、用電和其他壓力日益不滿。
在這篇經過編輯以保證篇幅和清晰度的訪談中，密西根大學資訊與公共政策學院助理教授、伯克曼·克萊因互聯網與社會研究中心研究員本·格林探討了數據中心對社區的影響、其快速擴張背後的原因以及監管的可能性。
居民越來越反對在社區內或附近建造資料中心。他們的擔憂是合理的還是誇大其詞？
大眾普遍對資料中心持負面態度。總的來說，他們的擔憂非常合理。
民眾擔心資料中心會導致電價上漲。他們擔心資料中心需要消耗大量水資源。他們擔心政府會以稅收減免的形式向資料中心開發商提供補貼。他們也意識到，資料中心並不能帶來實質的經濟發展，尤其是在創造就業機會方面。
我認為公眾對資料中心的擔憂完全合理。我的研究和其他研究表明，從地方層面來看，資料中心對社區來說是一筆糟糕的交易。
“我認為公眾對數據中心的擔憂完全合情合理。”
令人印象深刻的是，各個社區在這個問題上組織得如此出色，他們對這個主題的了解如此深入，並且成功阻止了許多專案。這就像一場大衛與歌利亞之戰；當地社區正在對抗一些世界上最富有的公司。
雖然，並非所有努力都能成功。有時，這些公司的財富和實力會佔上風。但許多資料中心專案都因當地居民的抵製而受阻，許多市政當局也頒布了暫停令，暫停資料中心的開發。
資料中心平均需要多少水和電？
超大規模資料中心的標準定義是面積超過 10,000 平方英尺，擁有超過 5,000 台伺服器。但即使是這個標準，也遠低於目前正在建置的資料中心的標準。
離我居住的安娜堡只有幾英里遠的地方，在密西根州薩林鎮，有一個大型項目正在建設中，它是OpenAI的「星門計畫」（Stargate Project）的一部分。該計畫佔地超過200萬平方英尺，耗電量達1.4吉瓦，相當於一百萬戶家庭的用電量。
這裡重要的不僅是單一資料中心的規模，還有全國各地正在快速建造的資料中心數量，這正推動著能源和水資源需求的急劇增長。
據估計，幾年內，資料中心的用電量將佔全國總用電量的10%到15%。這意味著資料中心的蓬勃發展正嚴重阻礙美國向再生能源轉型，因為它們往往會延長那些原本計劃關閉的化石燃料發電廠的使用壽命。
數據中心開發商聲稱他們為當地社區帶來了就業機會。您對此有何看法？
這完全是這些資料中心的一個虛假承諾。開發商之所以這麼說，是因為他們知道這很能吸引政策制定者；他們會向州政府申請稅收減免、放寬監管或特殊規劃許可等優惠政策，以換取創造就業機會。
這也使得資料中心開發商能夠利用這種將科技經濟和矽谷的光環傳播到全國各地的想法，聲稱「我們可以把矽谷的模式帶到密西根州、俄亥俄州或科羅拉多州」。
“這是這些數據中心的一個重大虛假承諾。”
實際上，情況並非如此。資料中心的建設需要大量勞動力，因為這些都是大型建設項目，但工期通常為一到兩年；有時這些勞動力來自當地工會，有時則不然。Why are communities pushing back against data centers?
Tech, data policy expert says concerns legitimate over rising power rates, water use, environmental issues amid mushrooming growth
Data centers, which house computer systems that help train AI models, are blanketing the country, a boom fueled by surging interest in AI and state tax breaks.
More than 4,000 are already in operation, mostly in Virginia, Texas, and California, and 3,000 more are being planned or under construction.
Data center developers and tech giants argue the projects benefit communities by creating new jobs and boosting local economic development through increased property tax revenue and future business opportunities. They also note that infrastructure must grow if the nation wants to remain a global AI power.
But public opposition is mounting over the large water and electricity demands and other strains that data centers, often the size of warehouses, place on communities, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center.
In this interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, Ben Green, assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and Public Policy and a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, discusses the impact of data centers on communities, the factors behind their rapid expansion, and the potential for regulation.
Residents are increasingly pushing back against plans to build data centers in or near their communities. Are their concerns legitimate or exaggerated?
The public broadly is quite negative about data centers. Overall, their concerns are very legitimate.
The public is concerned about rising electricity rates caused by data centers. They are concerned about the enormous water use that data centers require. They’re concerned about public handouts in the form of tax breaks that are going to data center developers, and they’re also aware that data centers don’t bring meaningful economic development, especially in the form of jobs.
I think the public is quite right to be concerned about data centers. My research and other research have shown that these are a bad deal for communities on the local level.
“I think the public is quite right to be concerned about data centers.”
It’s been impressive just how well communities have organized around this, how educated they have gotten about the topic, and how many of these projects they have been able to stop. It’s a sort of David and Goliath fight; local communities are pushing back against some of the wealthiest companies in the world.
Certainly not every effort is successful. Sometimes, the wealth and power of these companies win out. But many data center projects have been blocked by local resistance, and many municipalities have passed moratoria that pause data center development.
How much water and electricity do data centers require on average?
The standard definition of a hyperscale data center is that it is more than 10,000 square feet with more than 5,000 servers. But even that is way below the current standard of the data centers that are being built today.
Just a few miles from where I live in Ann Arbor there is a big project, part of OpenAI’s Stargate Project in Saline Township, Michigan, where the plan is for it to be over 2 million square feet and use 1.4 gigawatts of energy. That is equivalent to the energy use of a million households.
What is important here is not just the scale of an individual data center, but also the number of data centers that are being developed at rapid pace across the country, which is fueling a massive expansion in energy and water demand.
Estimates suggest that within a couple of years, the electricity needed for data centers is going to be around 10 to 15 percent of total nationwide electricity demand. This means that the data center boom is putting severe strain on efforts to move the country toward renewable energy sources, often by prolonging the use of fossil fuel plants that had been slated for closure.
Data center developers claim they bring jobs to local communities. What’s your take on that?
It’s a significant false promise of these data centers. Developers say this because they know that it is attractive to policymakers; they come asking the state to give them benefits in the form of tax breaks, reduced regulations, or special zoning permissions in exchange for job creation.
That also allows data center developers to play into this idea of spreading the aura of the tech economy and Silicon Valley across the country by saying, “We can bring a taste of Silicon Valley to Michigan or Ohio or Colorado.”
“It’s a significant false promise of these data centers.”
In practice, this is not what happens. The construction of data centers requires work because these are large construction projects, but that lasts a year or two; sometimes that labor is local and unionized, and sometimes that labor is trade professionals who come in from other states.
Once the data center is up and running, it requires very few people, often just 20 to 50 staff members, because it’s not an office for software developers, product managers, or marketing experts. It is a warehouse of servers.
Do tax revenues and other community benefits outweigh the downsides of data center expansion?
Unfortunately, there’s just very little economic development that plays out on the local level.
There is some tax revenue, but even that is reduced because of tax break policies. Over the last year, Virginia and Georgia have given up more than a billion dollars’ worth of revenue as a result of tax breaks. That’s money that is being handed back to the industry rather than going into public funds that could pay for infrastructure, schools, or healthcare.
Also, there are not beneficial ripple effects like you might see with other industries. Living within a stone’s throw of a data center does not mean that you are getting better or faster or cheaper access to these technologies.
Communities in both blue and red states have pushed back against data centers. Why is this an issue that unites communities regardless of their political leanings?
Data centers are becoming an important issue in local, state, and potentially federal elections because it is an important subject for voters. They can really feel how data centers affect their lives in ways that are tangible and concrete.
And it’s causing some interesting realignments and potential for bipartisan coalitions because it’s not a simple left or right issue. Liberals and people on the left are concerned for environmental reasons and distrust in AI companies, but many conservatives are upset about data centers too.
This introduces a sort of wild-card effect into future elections where being critical of data centers is a big winning issue for candidates. That played out in November in some Virginia and Georgia elections and is a hot topic for candidates campaigning right now, such as in the Michigan Senate primaries.
What policy recommendations are needed to address the expansion of data centers?
Regulation is definitely necessary. One important action is to repeal tax breaks for data center developers because they are incentivizing further data center development and are making it a further bad deal for communities.
A large number of projects are happening because states have passed tax breaks to incentivize data center development. About 35 states now have these tax breaks in place as part of their recruitment pitch.
There are many other considerations.
First, transparency needs to be a bare minimum requirement. There’s an amazing amount of obscurity in data center development right now. Contracts are secretive, and when they are made public, there are huge redactions, and policymakers are signing nondisclosure agreements. There should be early and consistent transparency about what’s being proposed and what the terms of these deals are.
There should be rate protections for consumers with clear contract provisions such that the cost of upgrading the utility infrastructure to service a hyperscale data center doesn’t get passed on to consumers like you and me, which has been happening consistently across the country.
If you live near data centers, your electricity bills are going up, often by a factor of two or more. There should also be a stronger voice for communities in determining whether to welcome data centers, and under what conditions.
One final piece is the need to think about broader planning on how much total water and electricity demand from data centers a state or a region or utility jurisdiction can handle. It’s one thing to say that a state can handle one hyperscale data center, but quite another for that state to be welcoming dozens of such facilities.
We have to make sure that we’re not sacrificing climate goals just for the sake of building more data centers or building data centers faster. We should not be allowing the desire among the tech industry for rapid data center development to push renewable energy goals to the wayside.
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