State Officials Push Back on A.I. Data Center ‘Misinformation’

Members of state departments, like the Department of Water Resources, say concerns about the environmental impacts of data centers are overblown.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – AI data centers have become a hot-button issue in North Dakota over the past few years, with citizens in many of the cities in which they’ve been placed – like Harwood – expressing their extreme displeasure with the construction.

Sometimes they’re upset they feel they haven’t been considered in the matter, and still others believe the facilities will be unsightly and noisy.

But one prevailing argument is that the data centers will cause undue harm to the environment.

On Tuesday, June 2nd, the legislative Energy Development and Transmission Committee met in Grand Forks, with lawmakers present saying that people in the districts they represent are misinformed on this topic.

“Emotional reaction with information with information that’s not accurate is a problem,” acknowledged Claire Vigesaa, executive director of the North Dakota Transmission Authority. “We just need to do our best to keep focused on facts and reputable information.”

Officials from agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality presented statistics saying those environmental fears are unfounded.

“We’ve also been some negative environmental information that hasn’t matched what we’ve seen in North Dakota at all,” said executive director James Semerad.

The lawmakers in question believe that it’s somewhat incumbent upon the state to provide greater education to local authorities pitching and / or breaking the news of data center construction to their residents.

Former Governor of North Dakota, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, echoed the sentiments of many of these officials in a speech in Bismarck in May.

He claimed, among other things, that AI data centers will actually lower the cost of electricity for the average consumer in the long run.