Local communities can protect homeowners without shutting Maryland out of the next industrial revolution.
Republicans have always believed in free enterprise, private investment, American energy and the ability of new technology to improve people’s lives. We should not abandon those principles simply because a new industry has become politically controversial.
Data centers are not strange warehouses filled with robots plotting to take over the world. They are the physical backbone for modern life. Banking systems, hospital records, government websites, online shopping, emergency communications, cloud computing and artificial intelligence all depend on them.
Mark Levin recently called this the beginning of a new industrial revolution. He is right. The countries that lead in computing power and artificial intelligence will have an enormous advantage in medicine, manufacturing, national defense, cybersecurity and economic growth.[1] America cannot afford to hand that advantage to China because a few politicians discovered that fear makes for an easy campaign slogan.
Of course, that does not mean every proposed data center belongs on every available piece of land.
Some projects belong in industrial parks and commercial corridors. They may not belong beside established neighborhoods, farms or historic communities. Questions about setbacks, landscaping, road access, building appearance and nearby homes are legitimate.
They are also local zoning questions.
County councils, planning commissions and zoning boards are perfectly capable of reviewing individual sites. A statewide moratorium would take those decisions away by local communities and replace them with a blanket order from Annapolis. That is not local control, and it is certainly not free enterprise.
Opponents frequently claim data centers are unbearably noisy. That picture does not match the normal operation of a properly designed facility. Most of the sound comes from fans, cooling equipment, and mechanical systems. Those systems can be enclosed, screened and placed away from homes. Backup generators are generally used during testing or power failures, not as the facility’s everyday power source.
For some perspective, the Federal Highway Administration says traffic noise near major highways is often in the upper 70-decibel range.[2] Maryland has countless neighborhoods near highways, airports, hospitals and shopping centers. We manage those uses through zoning, setbacks and sound standards. We do not ban them statewide.
A county can require sound studies before and after construction. It can establish enforceable limits at the property line. Loudoun County planning materials, for example, discuss a 50 dBA property-line standard for data centers.[3] If a developer cannot meet the local limit, the county can require mitigation or reject the site plan.
The water claim is also routinely exaggerated, just like with fracking. Some data centers use evaporative cooling and consume significant amounts of water. Others use dry cooling, recycled water, closed-loop systems, outside air, or hybrid designs that greatly reduce potable-water use. The Department of Energy has documented several technologies and operating practices that reduce water consumption.[4]
In other words, there is no universal data-center water problem; the claim is a fairytale. Water use depends on the facility, its cooling system, and its location. Communities having limited water supplies may require water studies, recycled-water systems, or designs that do not rely heavily on local drinking water. That is a practical answer. A statewide ban is not.
We have heard this style of argument before.
Anti-fracking activists used worries about water, noise, truck traffic and land use to demand moratoriums. They insisted that no regulation could ever be strong enough. Maryland eventually banned fracking altogether.[5] Pennsylvania and West Virginia developed their natural gas resources, while Maryland continued to buy and consume natural gas produced elsewhere.
Maryland gave up the jobs and investment but kept using the product.
A data-center moratorium would repeat that mistake. Maryland residents would continue to use artificial intelligence, streaming services, cloud storage, and online banking. The facilities would be built in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, or another state willing to accept the investment.
The American Enterprise Institute has described the real choice as one between scarcity and abundance. Data centers can create local challenges, but moratoriums solve none of them. They only drive away the economic benefits.[6]
President Trump has shown Republicans a better approach. His Ratepayer Protection Pledge calls on major technology companies to build, bring or buy the additional power they need, pay for necessary grid improvements and accept rate structures that protect ordinary families.[7]
That is the right balance. Welcome investment, but make developers pay their own way. Protect homeowners through local zoning. Protect ratepayers through enforceable utility rules. Build more power plants and modernize the electric grid.
Republicans should not answer an energy shortage by banning businesses that need energy. We should produce more energy.
Build the data centers. Build the generation. Build the transmission. Set reasonable local standards and enforce them.
That is free enterprise with accountability.
Endnotes
- Fox News: “Mark Levin: This Is the New Industrial Revolution”
Levin discusses data centers, artificial intelligence and competition with China. - Federal Highway Administration: Highway Noise Reduction
Federal comparisons of common sound levels and highway traffic noise - Loudoun County: Best Practices for Communities Considering Data Centers
Local approaches to sound studies, property-line limits, power and water requirements - U.S. Department of Energy: Cooling-Water Efficiency for Data Centers
Cooling choices and opportunities to reduce water consumption - Maryland General Assembly: Hydraulic-Fracturing Prohibition
Maryland’s 2017 law prohibiting hydraulic fracturing - American Enterprise Institute: “The Data Center Backlash Is Really About Abundance”
Why local concerns call for practical policies instead of moratoriums - The White House: Ratepayer Protection Pledge
President Trump’s plan requiring technology companies to build, bring or buy additional power
Dwight Patel is a Senior Contributor to Direct Line News, covering national security, cybersecurity policy, and federal governance, and is 1st Vice Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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