A new data center proposal was discussed in Taylor, TX ( a pretty conservative place ) last night. Its a model Greg Abbott datacenter in that its 'bringing its own power'. Unfortunately, the room was still overflowing with people protesting it. Turns out, the only thing people want to... live next to less than a datacenter, is a datacenter that is also a natural gas power plant 😂 The pro-data center side really needs to go back to the drawing board on this. Something like Vivek is proposing where you pay neighbors is probably the way.show more

This woman thinks that a gas plant is 4x dirtier than coal? Does she think they’re literally burning gasoline? These people are so stupid

Yes the disinfo on nat gas is just as bad as data centers

It’s a moral panic. They did not reason themselves into this position, and they will not be reasoned out of it.

These ppl have been wholly and fully captured by ChiComm propaganda.

The argument exists if they make it, see Louden County. This recent era of tech, data centers & AI, have been particularly bad on messaging. Data centers with more of a lack of messaging and AI with it’s gonna take all the jobs (except the reality is, we’re seeing an increase, see software engineers)

💯 I love that, the data is there, but it takes a pretty strong leader to wither the short term public criticism and sell the vision of lower taxes + better services through building data centers and taxing them , and then following through with that

This is a really good podcast on the topic. The surprising takeaway is it’s more about the broken trust with the local government and the secrecy more so than anti-AI or energy or water. If this is correct, there’s something to rally around.

So is the new argument against that citizens believe that data centers cause cancer?🤣

Basically yes

@SVP_of_Retail Instead they are helping to solve cancer

@data_atx We need an electoral college level protection for critical infrastructure. Decisions of this magnitude shouldn’t be made by city counsels getting leveraged by the vocal uneducated…

If permission to speak were conditioned on passing an IQ test with 85 or higher these meetings would be a lot more productive.

Data centers in space will be the norm in the future!

"All of us are gonna get cancer" oh Lord...

Which is why zoning shouldn't exist. Houston voters were correct three times.

I believe that the former Alcoa plant in Rockdale is going to be covered in data centers … it was supposedly sold as a development but appears the real goal was to sell of chunks for huge profits to companies to build data centers , bitcoin mining (already huge there ) and solar farms

Trump should have banned TikTok.

Is this the data center that was sold land that had been donated as a park?

I dont understand why they keep opening data centers in places with no water, high heat and high electricity cost. Shouldn't they open in Alaska where it's cold and plenty of water or near hydro power

So let me get this straight. In order to do business on private land, these companies have to be a power plant, be a water treatment plant, AND distribute money directly to the residents of the county? All in addition to, you know, the thing they are supposed to do?

Data Center should sign a buy-out clause where they simply buy out any neighbour that wants so sell within X period of Data Center being built. (i.e. if property values go down, there's no downside). Do 2x the current property and settle it. How much can all those properties combines be v the value of the data center?

Maybe residents should get royalties… It worked for the oil industry

Why do they have to be here?

Its own natural gas power plant which means it not only sucks up our water but our natural gas which in case you didn't know, Texas is one of the very few states with its own natural gas reserves.

Solar and batteries are cleaner for data centers. I’m still concerned about water usage. I’ve heard they are closed circuit but I’m not sure. Also I’ve heard they are very loud. Not sure about that either.

This is on top of existing data center opposition before they wanted to build their own power plant. Last year I documented this project built on a site with a deed restriction for parkland

The gas plant isn't venting gas, they are burning it to generate power. WTF is a "gas stack"

Replace the natural gas power plant with a zero emissions power plant. Problem solved

“where you pay neighbors” Very Coasian take. See recent The Answer is Transaction Costs episode about Friedman and Coase

@grok why is this lady saying natural gas is dirtier than coal?

🙄

I call BS. I thought you were soooong them for now? @GregAbbott_TX @GovAbbottPress or was that more lip service?

Is the DC project addressing all of the community's concerns? Noise. Air Pollution (onsite gen is exempt from clean air regs) Water Consumption. Other environmental concerns. Has the developer built trust with the community and behaved like an exemplary citizen?

You can’t give them an inch I don’t really care about datacenters but communities extorting new industry could kill the entire American experiment

The nocebo effect in full bloom in Texas. Pretty soon, we'll know for sure if residents start checking into local hospitals complaining that their brains are being taken over by the AI chips housed in these facilities. Meanwhile, the state has never halted development by the far larger claim on the state's resources by industries like oil/gas, petrochemical, agriculture, semiconductor manufacturing, golf courses, crypto mining, etc. What's up with that? The GOP has been fully in charge of the State of Texas for two decades. They ushered in these problems by thinking about the consequences of their earlier actions. We're thinking of everything from the massive failure during Uri to the fact that the state's grids are now so dominated by unreliable renewables it can't even accommodate the kind of baseload demand that would help keep power prices down for all Texans had politicians not broken the market. It's been one bad decision after another, backing state leaders into a corner in which they have no choice but to try to save their skins with... you got it... more bad decisions. A bad look for Texas... and the GOP... that has to call into question whether the state should be viewed any longer as a good place to invest. Are we wrong?

In case you were wondering where all the Global Warming crazies went.

Texas public schools most implicated by this video.

Ban TikTok now!

You realize they solved this problem 100 years ago with zoning, right?

@Lorionafarm Taylor is crawling with flock cameras and already has two major DC projects underway. It's completely overrun with corruption.

Put data centers somewhere that residents can be given royalties from the data center. Watch the opposition disappear. It worked for the oil industry...