The debate over data centers in Alabama has hit new highs in recent months, with more than a dozen projects underway or proposed across the state. That surge in data center development is driven in part by the explosive growth of generative AI like ChatGPT and Claude. While backers of data centers tout them as boosters to the community, bringing jobs and tax dollars, public opposition continues to increase over environmental concerns and a lack of transparency from developers and political leaders.
Here are five things you need to know about the data center debate:
1. Data centers produce a lot of heat
Hyperscale data centers can be millions of square feet in size. The proposed Project Marvel data center in Bessemer would contain 18 buildings each about the size of a Walmart Supercenter. These buildings would house thousands of computer servers running 24/7, which generate a lot of heat. The heat can reach as high as the boiling point of water, according to Brian Toone, a computer science professor at Samford University.
“When a computer is actually doing a lot of processing, there's a lot of electricity draw,” Toone said.
Unlike simply storing data in the cloud, Toone said AI requires a lot more energy to run.
“In order to respond to an AI prompt or to train an AI, it is maximum compute power,” Toone said. “So the newer data centers draw a lot more power than the traditional data centers.”
Excess heat can escape the facility leading to “heat islands.” A recent study looked at four data centers around Phoenix, Arizona, and found they raised the temperature by about 4 degrees Fahrenheit up to a third of a mile away.
So what to do with all that heat?
2. Data centers need water
Many data centers use water to keep things cool because air conditioning alone will not get the job done.
“Water is way, way more efficient at cooling things down than the air,” said Charles Miller, policy director at Alabama Rivers Alliance. “It can absorb more heat. And so, to save money and to save on their electric bills, some hyperscale data centers use water or other liquid-based cooling.”
Miller said data centers use two types of cooling mechanisms. The first is an open-loop system, where outside water is pumped in to cool the equipment. But that water has to be replenished, so the method uses a lot of it. Some hyperscale data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water a day.
“Typically, the older data center designs were these once-through cooling mechanisms,” Miller said. “Basically, you would take water out of the environment, pass it through, it would pick up heat, which cools chips, cools the inside of the data center, and then it goes back to the environment.”
Other data centers, particularly newer ones, use a closed-loop system, which recirculates water on-site. Miller said this method has less impact on water resources.
“I do think the industry is taking steps to kind of mitigate that,” Miller said. “Because they understand that water's a really personal issue for a lot of people.”
3. Data centers can be noisy
The noise from data centers isn’t just an annoyance. It can have real consequences. Studies have shown noise pollution raises blood pressure, increases stress and disrupts sleep. Some who live near data centers say the constant hums and whines are overbearing. Not only can they be heard indoors, the sounds make it difficult to enjoy time outdoors.
In Birmingham’s Oxmoor Valley neighborhood, where tech company Nebius is building a hyperscale data center, residents have voiced concerns about the potential sound. Nebius spokesperson Leah Davis said any noise from the facility won’t be heard in the wider community.
“That's a measure that we took in place with a lot of sound abatements and mitigation measures, sound walls and acoustic canopies,” Davis said. “And all the things to really ensure that our facility would not disrupt the community and disrupt our neighbors.”
But the Nebius case has another layer. The Greater Birmingham Humane Society already planned to build a new animal hospital and adoption center 900 feet from where the Nebius project is going up. The nonprofit’s CEO, Allison Black Cornelius, said Nebius’ sound study doesn’t account for animals.
“It's a problem because our hospital was designed as a healing center for animals that have been already through a lot,” Cornelius said.
4. Data centers use a lot of power
Since data centers use so much electricity, they could require upgrades to the power grid. The concern is that cost could be passed on to residential customers through higher utility bills. Alabama Power said they have a rate freeze in place through 2027. Nebius, like a lot of data center developers, said they will shoulder any costs.
But Daniel Tait, who leads Energy Alabama, a clean-energy advocacy group, said he wants more assurances.
“If we don't do this right – you do see this in some other states already – that there's gonna be some pretty sizable rate increases,” Tait said.
But Tait adds some data centers are doing more on the power issue.
“We do see in some other states that they are investing in energy efficiency programs for folks that are struggling to pay their utility bills,” Tait said. “So you don't just have to add new capacity to the grid, you can actually help people struggling to pay their utility bills.”
Tait said some data centers use renewable energy. But others rely on fossil fuels, particularly through backup generators powered by natural gas or diesel. Those data centers send more pollution and climate-warming gasses into the atmosphere.
5. Data centers can bring growth
Proponents say data centers can generate millions in taxes, strengthening public services. For the workplace, the AI technology driving the rush to build data centers could give employees helpful tools. Samford Professor Brian Toone said he has already seen the benefits in his classroom.
“The hope is an increase in productivity that students and employees are able to use these generative AI type tools to assist in their coding tasks,” Toone said. “You can produce more with unfortunately fewer people.”
Will AI and the data centers that support it put us all out of work? That’s a big wild card and the verdict is still out.
Another concern is who benefits and who will see the downsides of the growth. Barbara Jacskon, a grassroots organizer with GASP (Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution) said potential for economic growth does not offset the inequities she sees in data center development.
“You don't see them in Homewood. You don't see them in Mountain Brook. You don't see them at Vestavia. It is only in the Black and brown communities where they have already been impacted by these other industries that have polluted them, that have harmed them already,” Jackson said. “Profits over people.”
