For years, Grant County sat on enough clean hydroelectricity to power more than a million homes. Then came the tech companies, interested in the cheap and plentiful electricity. They built data centers all over rural Washington to help fuel the modern internet.
The data centers use so much energy that in the next few years, Washington state could struggle to keep up with local electricity needs.
Washington’s new governor, Bob Ferguson, has taken notice.
Last week, he signed an executive order to evaluate data centers’ impact on energy use, state tax revenue, and job creation.
The executive order follows a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation into the impacts of the state’s power-guzzling data center industry.
The report looked into the sustainability of data centers, the jobs surrounding them, and a controversial tax incentive that helps them proliferate.
Guests:
- Seattle Times investigative reporters Sydney Brownstone and Lulu Ramadan
Related Links:
-
WA governor orders team to study data centers’ energy, tax, jobs impact - The Seattle Times
-
Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push - The Seattle Times
-
Gov. Bob Ferguson’s Executive Order - WA.gov
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes
Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.