Some clean energy advocates are expressing concerns about the proliferation of data centers because they put a stress on the grid. That need for electricity can prolong the life for coal-powered plants and lead to the development of new natural gas plants.
Although the latest worries are focused on the Upper Midwest plans by Microsoft, Google has invested more than $4.4 billion dollars in its facility in Mayes County, east of Tulsa.
Eight hundred people work at the 1.4-million-square-foot facility in Pryor. It has been expanded four times since development started in 2007.
Clean energy advocates worry that the development of more data centers associated with the growth of AI could delay the move from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to more sustainable sources of energy like solar and wind.
