ABINGDON, Md. — They make AI and cloud computing possible, but they come with a reputation.
As a councilman in Harford County advocates a 180-day moratorium on data centers, folks at a community advisory board meeting will discuss research surrounding the controversial structures.
Harford councilman advocates moratorium on data centers
The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night at the Abingdon Fire Company.
“To me it’s a lot of sprawl," said Chuck Huber, a Bel Air resident, "it’s a lot of high energy use, our energy bills are bad enough as it is already, unless they bring their own energy sources it’s going to be drawing off the grid.”
Last month, Harford County Councilman Jacob Bennett posted that he'd drafted legislation to put a 180-day moratorium on data centers in the county, in lockstep with jurisdictions like Baltimore City.
“Our utility bills go up in no small part, because we are paying for the strain they take on the grid. So I think it’s appropriate and important that we take a timeout, and really think about what is the best and highest use," said Zeke Cohen, president of the Baltimore City Council.
Data centers have become a recent source of national controversy; while some leaders tout the positives on jobs and economics, they've become infamous for impacts on the environment, energy costs, water use and noise.
County residents WMAR spoke with Thursday were not warm to the idea of data centers.
“Because of the energy consumption they require, I think that’s a red flag," Colin Deleyer, a Harford County resident, told WMAR-2 News, "and I just don’t think there’s been enough overall time allotted to flesh out what the longterm or short term effects are.”
“It seems like they’re expanding far faster than we’re ready for," Huber added, "there’s a lot of considerations that aren’t being fully looked into that, I think we need to slow things down as much as possible to really understand what’s going to happen, how it’s going to happen and what are the repercussions going to be.”
