Last month, Pamela Griffin and two other Taylor, Texas residents took to the podium at a city council meeting to express opposition to the data center project. But they later sat down as council members discussed the proposed technology factory. Griffin did not speak out against the measure. Nobody did it.
A similar contrast is echoed in communities across the United States. Data centers are facing unprecedented public resistance, with environmental costs being a major concern. More of them were needed to meet the growing appetite for AI, and they became obvious flashpoints for communities concerned about what automation might mean for them. But many of the factories being built to supply servers, electrical equipment and other parts to data centers face virtually no opposition.
Factories typically create more jobs and employ fewer natural resources than data centers, so with the exception of a few controversial chip factories in several states, they participate in local hearings to obtain permits and tax breaks. But experts who track supply chains say the minimal scrutiny of manufacturing projects highlights a potential fresh strategy for anti-data center activists and a source of risk for communities that may invest in a short-term boom.
“At some point, people will figure out what is the most important factory that can bring all the data centers to their knees, and they will move on,” says Andy Tsay, a professor at Santa Clara University who studies global trade and reshoring.
While focusing on the supply chain may be a fresh way to snail-paced data center construction, Griffin says organizers are too spread out to take on more. So for now, the door is wide open for manufacturers to expand their U.S. presence and feed into the data center market without overwhelming resistance.
“We have to start at the bottom and get the guys who make these servers, but first we have to convince people what these data centers are,” Griffin says. “We have to choose our battles.”
At last month’s council meeting, she focused on opposition to a proposal to build a second data center in Taylor after one was built near her home, which she asks to stop. That evening, Griffin and her colleagues knew the council would also consider a proposed plant for Taiwanese manufacturer Compal. However, the facility’s potential role in supporting the data center industry was not obvious to them.
Griffin’s case highlights what anti-data center communities face when also considering demanding manufacturing projects: opacity, public perception and the prospect of additional legal battles.
Server farms
City documents describe Compal’s intentions as producing “servers” in addition to everything from sharp home devices to car electronics.
It’s a long list, but Compal spokeswoman Tina Chang tells WIRED that the Taylor factory will be dedicated to the company’s server business. The building is leased by a subsidiary of Compal USA Technology which was created last year to expand Compal’s server products business in the US. Another site in nearby Georgetown, Texas, announced at the same time as the Taylor facility, “will establish a server services center to support enterprise and cloud infrastructure needs.” according to the company.
Taylor, located near Austin, courted Compal for more than a year, which considered alternatives around the world before selecting the city. The 366,000-square-foot pre-built facility convinced the company, which said it was signing the contract lease valued at almost $66 million 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 city council at its December meeting. “It gave them the flexibility to do what needed to be done.”