Last month, Pamela Griffin and two other residents of Taylor, Texas, took to the lectern during a city council meeting to object to a data center project. But later they sat back as council members discussed a proposed technology factory. Griffin did not speak out against that development. Nobody did it.
A similar contrast is repeated in communities across the US. Data centers are facing unprecedented public resistance, with environmental costs being a leading concern. More were needed to fuel the growing interest in AI, and they have become clear focal points for communities concerned about what automation could mean for them. However, many of the factories being built to supply servers, electrical equipment and other components to data centers face virtually no opposition.
Factories tend to create more jobs and deplete fewer natural resources than data centers. So, with the exception of a few controversial chip factories in several states, they have sailed through local hearings to get permits and tax breaks. But experts who track supply chains say the minimal research into manufacturing projects highlights a potential new strategy for activists fighting data centers and a source of risk for communities that might invest in a short-lived boom.
“At some point, people are going to figure out what the critical factory is that could bring all data centers to their knees, and then they're going to go after it,” said Andy Tsay, a professor at Santa Clara University who studies global trade and reshoring.
While targeting the supply chain could be a new way to slow data center construction, Griffin says organizers are spread too thin to take on more. So for now, the door is wide open for manufacturers to grow their presence in the US and fuel the data center market without overwhelming resistance.
“We have to start at the bottom and find the guys who are making these servers, but first we have to get people to understand what these data centers are,” says Griffin. “We must choose our battles.”
Her focus at last month's council meeting was on opposing a proposal for a second data center in Taylor, after one was built near her home and she is suing. That evening, Griffin and her fellow activists knew the council would also consider a proposed factory for Taiwanese manufacturer Compal. But the location's potential role in supporting the data center industry was not clear to them.
Griffin's case highlights what communities protesting data centers face when also considering challenging manufacturing projects: opacity, public perception, and the prospect of additional legal battles.
Server farms
City records describe Compal's intentions as creating “servers,” in addition to everything from smart home devices to automotive electronics.
It's a broad list, but Compal spokesperson Tina Chang tells WIRED that the Taylor factory will be for the company's server business. The building is leased by Compal USA Technology, a subsidiary formed last year with the aim of expanding Compal's server product business in the US. Another location in nearby Georgetown, Texas, announced at the same time as the Taylor facility, will “establish a server service center that supports enterprise and cloud infrastructure needs,” the company said.
Taylor, near Austin, spent more than a year courting Compal, which considered alternatives worldwide before choosing the city. A pre-built 30,000-square-foot facility convinced the company, which said it signed a nearly $66 million lease with plans to invest a total of $200 million. “They fell in love with the openness,” Ben White, president of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation, told the council during the December meeting. “It gave them the flexibility to do what needed to be done.”
