The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutSBRC Handout 09-08-26 FILEDArtificial intelligence may be driving much of today's discussion around data centers, but data centers and Al are not the same thing. Al is simply one of many services that rely on data center infrastructure. Data centers have existed for decades and have grown alongside the internet and the digital technologies that have transformed our lives. Data centers are one of the key pieces of today's infrastructure. The average U.S. adult now spends more than 10 hours per day online, nearly half of their waking hours. That includes approximately 5.4 hours spent browsing, working, shopping, and banking online, along with another 5 hours streaming content. More than 30% of American adults report being online "almost constantly." Social media users have surpassed 300 million in the United States, representing roughly 93% of the population. Without data centers, the modern economy would cease to function as we know it. Communication networks, online banking, emergency services, healthcare systems, education platforms, entertainment, financial tran saction s, and countless business operations depend on them every second of every day. (') ""Tl ~ If we wijt to maintain and improve our modern way of life, ~ ~ w~eee;data centers, and we need this critical industry (/) g to ~ntITTlJ e growing. Just as we depend on electricity, ~ ~ hi~wa ~, airports, water systems, and telecommunications ~ ~ n~or~, we now depend on data centers. The question is } mITonQ! whether society needs data centers. The question z J~flleffier we are willing to invest in the infrastructure • rffilftrre~ to support an increasingly digital world. ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES POWERED BY DATA CENTERS THE INTERNET 6 ONLINE SHOPPING CLOUD COMPUTING S RETAIL BANKING a FINANCIAL SERVICES ,1, EMERGENCY SERVICES STREAMING SERVICES HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS .11 MOBILE NETWORKS EDUCATION PLATFORMS Every county, city, and state must establish, maintain, and balance a budget to provide essential services and invest in the quality of life of its residents. Whether it is funding schools, improving roads and infrastructure, maintaining parks, supporting public safety, or expanding community amenities, these investments require reliable sources of revenue. In practice, communities have two primary options for generating that revenue: attract new economic development and private investment or increase the tax burden on residents and local businesses. Responsible growth and industry investment can help communities expand opportunities, improve services, and strengthen their financial future without placing additional costs on taxpayers. One of the strongest examples of this can be found in Loudoun County, Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centers. According to Loudoun County, the data center industry generates nearly half of the county's property tax revenue and has become one of the most significant contributors to the local tax base. The Loudoun County experience demonstrates how strategic economic development can create a win-win scenario: generating significant revenue for local governments, supporting infrastructure investments, and reducing pressure on residents to shoulder the cost through higher taxes. As communities evaluate future growth opportunities, the fiscal benefits of industries such as data centers should be considered alongside other economic and community impacts. Data centers are not just technology infrastructure-they can also be major contributors to the financial health of local communities. TAX REVENUE IN ACTION LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA $1 IN COUNTY SERVICES PROVIDED $26 IN TAX REVENUE RETURNED TO THE COUNTY For every $1 in county services provided to data centers, Loudoun County receives approximately $26 in tax revenue. TAX REVENUE HELPS FUND SCHOOLS PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE PARKS LIBRARIES COMMUNITY SERVICES Since 2008. Loudoun County·s real property tax rate has fallen from $1.285 per $100 of assessed value to $0.805 while continuing to support growing community needs. ENERGY USE t~ AND THE IMPACT ON RESIDENTIAL RATES ~s.8~AM~~~ Like any critical infrastructure, data centers require electricity to operate. That reality understandably raises questions about energy consumption and the potential impact on residential electricity rates. Those concerns deserve to be addressed with facts. The first fact is that modern data centers are significantly more efficient than previous generations. Through advances in cooling technologies, server utilization, power management, and facility design, today's data centers use less energy and water per unit of computing power than ever before. The second fact is that there is little evidence that data centers are the primary driver of rising residential electricity rates. Electricity prices are influenced by a wide range of factors, including fuel costs, transmission and distribution investments, regulatory policies, generation capacity, weather events, and overall growth in electricity demand. If data centers were the primary cause of higher residential electric rates, the states with the largest data center markets would consistently rank among the highest-cost states. In reality, many of the highest-rate states have relatively limited data center development compared to major markets. The reality is that America faces a broader energy challenge. For decades, electricity demand growth has outpaced investments in new generation and transmission infrastructure in many regions. Yet our dependence on electricity continues to increase. We charge smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearable devices. We stream vid eo, work remotely, use cloud-based applications, and increasingly adopt electric vehicles. Many communities are moving toward greater electrification of homes, buildings, and transportation systems. Every one of these trends increases demand for electricity. It's also important to remember that data centers pay for the electricity they consume. They invest billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements, contribute to grid upgrades, and increasingly invest in or help finance new power generation resources. Many operators are also pursuing renewable energy projects, energy storage solutions, and innovative technologies to improve grid reliability and efficiency. THE FACTS ENERGY USE IN PERSPECTIVE MODERN DATA CENTERS ARE MORE EFFICIENT THAN EVER. Advances in technoiogy mean less energy and water are used per unit of computing pow er than in previous generati ons of data centers. RESIDENTIAL ENERGY RATES ANO DATA CENTERS A STATE COMPARISON STATES 1TH HIGH ESIDE TIAL RATES Have limited to no data center development compared to major markets. ' 0 Hawaii 0 Massachusettes 0 Rhode Island Q Maine 0 Connecticut G Vermont ,0 NewYork Alaska New Hampshire ,r WHY ENERGY DEMAND IS RISING STATES WITH DATA CENTER PROJECTS Are at or below the national average for resident ial energy rates. 0 Virginia 0 Texas e Georgia 0 Ohio DATA CENTERS HELP FUND THE SOLUTION Pay for the electricity they consume. Connected Devices Cloud Services Streaming 6 Entertainment Electric Home Growing Vehicles Electrification Communities More demand. More dependence. '-More need for reliable, affordable energy . .J Invest in infrastructure and grid upgrades. ~ Support new generation w of renewable energy. D Advanced storage and innovative solutions. One of the most common concerns raised about data centers is water consumption. While that concern is understandable, many of the numbers often cited by opponents come from older facilities or refer to the initial fill and flush of cooling systems rather than normal day-to-day operations. Modern data centers have become significantly more efficient in their water use. Many facilities now utilize closed-loop cooling systems and advanced air-cooled technologies that reduce water consumption by 70% to 90% compared to traditional evaporative cooling methods. Some facilities can reduce cooling-related water consumption even further, while purely air-cooled facilities consume little to no direct water for cooling operations. In a closed-loop cooling system, water continuously recirculates rather than being consumed through evaporation. Once the system is filled, daily water use is often limited primarily to normal business activities such as restrooms, maintenance, and cleaning. This is a significant change -from older generations of facilities that relied on less efficient cooling technologies. It is also important to put water usage into context. An average American 18-hole golf course can use more than 300,000 gallons of water per day for irrigation. A large water park resort typically consumes between 125,000 and 160,000 gallons per day. A 100- room hotel can use between 10,000 and 40,000 gallons daily. Large grocery stores and commercial buildings often consume roughly 22,000 gallons of water per day. By comparison, modern closed-loop data center cooling systems typically consume between 5,000 and 50,000 gallons per day while supporting infrastructure that millions of Americans rely on every day. Every community should carefully evaluate water resources, but those discussions should be based on current technology and accurate information rather than outdated assumptions. The conversation should focus on what data centers are today, not what they looked like twenty years ago. WATER USE IN CONTEXT AVERAGE DAILY WATER USAGE 18-HOLE ·····• GOLF COURSE .......• WATER PARK RESORTS 100-ROOM ············• HOTELS GROCERY ···········• STORES CLOSED-LOOP •...... ······• DATA CENTER