They came sporting yellow “No Data Center” tee-shirts. Dozens of them in a crowd of hundreds. A sign of growing opposition to the AI manufacturers who want to build their projects.
It wasn’t in Coweta, Yukon, or any other Oklahoma city, but in Wichita, Kansas. They came to a Sedgwick County listening session where many on hand voiced their opposition to proposed data centers. They cited energy costs, pollution, water usage, infrastructure damage and more—-the same complaints, criticism and questions raised by discerning residents in many Oklahoma Cities and counties.
Sedgewick County implemented a county-wide temporary moratorium on data centers in order to give time to create regulations on their development. The moratorium deadline is June 11 but county commissioners have also considered extending it.
According to a report by National Today, more than 50 residents voiced their opposition to the data centers while only 5 said they favored the projects.
“How you decide to handle these data centers will have a profound effect on what our state looks like moving forward. Once Pandora’s box is opened, there will be no going back,” cautioned one speaker from Andale.
Another countered with another cautionary observation, saying, “If you use modern banking, cell phone, social media, internet, streaming, anything, email, text messaging, remote work, supply chain, emergency services, utilities, data services, healthcare, electronic data, give them all up. Because they wouldn’t exist without data centers.”
County commissioners took no action because it was intended to be a listening session. But thecomments made County Commission chairman Jeff Blubaugh give pause.
“From tonight it sounds like we still have a lot of discovery to do, so I think it’s going to be awhile before we’re open to accept any applications, but we’re looking at all that right now,” Blubaugh said, according to Wichita TV station KWCH.
They will have another opportunity to speak when county commissioners hold another data center town hall on March 31. At that time, the county planning department will give a presentation on data centers.