Google and Meta's data centers use so much electricity that coal plant closures are delayed
Due mainly to the development of AI technology, technology companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon are building large-scale data centers one after another. Operating these data centers requires a large amount of electricity, and in
How Google and Meta data centers are keeping coal alive in Omaha - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/08/google-meta-omaha-data-centers/
AI datacenters are keeping coal-fired power stations busy • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/14/ai_datacenters_coal/
North Omaha, a district of Omaha with a high proportion of low-income and colored residents, is home to a coal-fired power plant that has been in operation since the 1950s. This has led to particularly severe air pollution in the North Omaha area, and a high incidence of asthma. In response, the Omaha Electric District (OPED) , which supplies electricity to the area, once promised to 'close the coal-fired power plant in North Omaha by 2023.'
However, as the deadline for closing the coal-fired power plant approached, the Omaha Power Authority was reluctant to close it, and ultimately postponed the closure to 2026. The reason for this was that the data centers of Google and Meta, which were attracted to the North Omaha area, consume a large amount of electricity, and there was a risk that closing the coal-fired power plant would not be able to meet the electricity demand.
'Promises were made and Omaha Power broke them,' said Cheryl Weston, who has lived in North Omaha for 50 years. 'Tech companies are to blame. Coal plants are still operating because we need a lot of energy to grow,' she said, blaming Google and Meta. Weston and other critics are also skeptical of the plan to shut down coal plants by 2026.
The Omaha Power Authority cited 'local opposition to wind and solar projects' and 'time-consuming regulations to switch to natural gas and connect new projects to the grid' as reasons for the delay in closing the coal-fired power plant in North Omaha. However, it is estimated that two-thirds of the electricity demand predicted for the Omaha area will come from data centers such as Google and Meta, so it is highly likely that the presence of data centers is a major bottleneck.
'Without the poor planning of data centers and utilities, we wouldn't have had to push for coal plants to continue operating,' said Debi Glick, president of energy industry consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics. 'It would be disingenuous to say they didn't cause this.'
According to Meta and federal energy disclosures, the electricity consumed by Meta's data centers in Nebraska is roughly equivalent to the electricity produced by a coal-fired power plant in North Omaha in 2023. This amount of electricity is equivalent to the electricity consumed by more than half of the homes in Omaha. Furthermore, Google's electricity consumption in Omaha exceeds that of Meta, and it consumes more electricity in Nebraska than anywhere else in the United States.
Big technology companies are scouring the U.S. for land and power to build new data centers. Omaha emerged as a prime candidate for data centers because of its relatively cheap land prices, abundant power, and the opportunity to turn cornfields into vast solar and wind farms. The Omaha Power Authority also worked with local governments to set up special industrial electricity rates in 2017. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska's governor at the time, said the Omaha Power Authority was key to attracting Google.
Despite the postponement of the closure of a coal-fired power plant in North Omaha, tech companies are arguing that operating data centers in Nebraska is environmentally friendly, on the theory that they are limiting greenhouse gas emissions to '
But for those who actually live in North Omaha, buying clean electricity from faraway places makes little sense. A study published in 2023 suggested that North Omaha, where 68% of the population is people of color, has some of the highest asthma rates in the country and that coal-fired power plants may be to blame.
Local activists are frustrated by the lack of response from tech companies to Omaha's continued use of fossil fuels. 'Tech companies are sitting on the sidelines. They're not in the game. It's shameful. They need to speak up,' said Preston Love, a North Omaha community activist and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
The tech companies say that for every watt of clean energy used by their data centers, they purchase an equivalent amount of clean energy from a 'regional grid.' But the 'regional grid' includes 14 states, not just Louisiana, and many experts and activists point out that the clean energy would have been produced even without the tech companies' contracts.
Criticism has also been directed at Omaha Power's attempts to introduce clean energy. The solar power project being developed by the Omaha Power Authority is to build a solar power plant on 2,800 acres (about 11.3 square kilometers) of farmland in York County , 100 miles (about 160 km) from Omaha. Local residents have expressed concerns about the size of the project, its impact on agriculture, and noise, which has led to increased tensions with the Omaha Power Authority.
The conflict between Omaha Power and York County residents stems from an unfair situation in which Omaha attracts data centers and gains tax revenue and jobs, while the facilities that supply the necessary electricity are built in remote rural areas. Local resident Jim Jackson commented at a June 2024 meeting, 'Even those who support this project probably don't want it in their backyards.' A draft ordinance has been submitted to the York County Council that would prohibit the installation of large solar power generation facilities within a half mile (about 0.8 km) of other people's land.
On the other hand, the Omaha Power Authority has also opposed battery projects by clean energy advocates. In April 2024, it concluded that it would not approve the giant battery that energy developer Eolian plans to install in Omaha to connect to the power grid. The Omaha Power Authority argues that because Nebraska is a 'public power' state, it cannot allow private companies to connect to the power grid.
'Given Omaha's large and growing data center footprint, it's puzzling that the local utility is intentionally preventing the addition of long-duration battery energy storage resources,' Eolian CEO Aaron Zubati said in a statement.
As the dispute continues, North Omaha residents have accused the power companies and tech companies of treating their neighborhood as a 'sacrifice zone.' North Omaha's median household income is $47,300, far lower than the rest of the city, and residents say they've felt little benefit from the data center's presence.
'This is something that would never be tolerated in an affluent, white community,' said Anthony Rogers Wright, a North Omaha activist. 'We're treating our people as expendable. If the utilities aren't ready to provide clean energy, they shouldn't have brought a data center to Omaha.'
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