The fight over the progress of data centers spread this week to Kansas where one county adopted a moratorium on the construction of the data centers through the end of 2028 and another county heard debate over a proposed project.
Harvey County, where Newton is located 29 miles north of Wichita, adopted a moratorium on Tuesday where county commissioners approved a resolution in anticipation of requests for data center construction. County Commissioner Don Schroeder explained the moratorium will give the county planning department and zoning board time to research and design regulations on the data centers.
“It’s just a matter of learning about what a data center is, what benefits would they provide, what are the drawbacks to it?,” County Commissioner Don Schroeder said. He also expressed concerns about the amount of water needed by a potential data center.
KSN TV in Wichita reported Karen Rothe, who oversees the county’s zoning and planning, said the move also allows the county to get ahead of things.
“We don’t currently have any regulations in place in our zoning for data centers, crypto mining, anything in that related field,” Rothe said. “It’s always best to have the regulation in place before an application or interest comes into the county.”
Barber County, next to the state line with Oklahoma, is the site of another data center debate. Google, the same firm building a new data center in Stillwater, Oklahoma and expanding its existing data center in Pryor, wants to build near Sharon, a small community east of Medicine Lodge.
Fino Advisors, the company helping Google with development of the project, went before barber County Commissioners this week and faced questions from commissioners about potential costs and benefits to the land and to the residents.
Barber County Commissioner Bryan Quick told KSN he is open to considering the proposal but needs much more information from developers before making a decision.
“With any type of situation like this, especially the size of this type of endeavor, you have to consider the pros and cons, not only how it’s going to affect you today, but how it’s going to affect you in 20 years,” Quick said.
One resident voiced opposition to the project, telling commissioners, ““I think it’s really important to keep the landscape the way it is. We’re a farming ranching community, we always have been.”
The CEO of Southern Pioneer Electric Company, Lindsay Campbell told commissioners rising nationwide utility costs could be offset by the construction of data centers. The company serves nine counties in Kansas.
Lindsay Campbell, CEO of Southern Pioneer Electric Company, which serves nine Kansas counties, including Barber County, also addressed the county commission. She said utility costs are rising around the nation, but that data centers could be a suitable way to offset costs.
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