Data centers that power artificial intelligence are popping up around the country to significant outcry over their utility and water usage.
Leon County commissioners are discussing the possibility of a moratorium, and other Big Bend counties have taken steps to keep these huge developments away.
Gina Jordan discusses the controversy with WFSU reporters Randy Vuxta and Tristan Wood on Speaking Of.
"Jackson County and Wakulla County both brought to the table ideas for a one year moratorium," says Vuxta. "This will allow them to be able to do more research into these data centers and let them be able to better understand how they're going to affect their counties."
Leon County commissioners are discussing the possibility of a moratorium as they gather information, while Tallahassee leaders voted 3 - 2 against creating an ordinance to bar data centers.
The Tallahassee area is home to four data centers, although not the type we've come to expect from the national conversation.
"When you drive around Tallahassee, you don't really see anything of that large industrial scale," Wood says.
"You have to take into account that there are differences between the date centers that are used for storage and data centers that are more focused on AI and having to be cooled by water," Vuxta says. "That's where more of the issue comes with these localized data centers."
"Millions of gallons a day for a large data center is going to be pumped out of the aquifer, which has a number of problems," says Erin Ryan, professor and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at the FSU School of Law. "It's going to compete directly with the water needs that local people have for residential purposes, for agriculture."
Local candidates for office are weighing in, as these controversial centers could have political implications.
Click LISTEN to hear the full conversation.
