For years, we’ve been told that communities should embrace new infrastructure like solar when it delivers broad public benefits.
Well now Nvidia has new partnership with infrastructure that is not being embraced the same way. From a recent headline in Inc:
You see community solar advocates have made the case repeatedly for community solar that there is:
- No direct investment required from residents.
- New tax revenue for local governments.
- Construction jobs and long-term economic activity.
- Infrastructure improvements.
- Benefits shared across the community.
- Support for the technologies people rely on every day.
Sound familiar?
It should. Those are many of the same arguments being made today for these community data centers. Yet suddenly, some of the loudest voices who championed community solar have discovered that community-scale infrastructure is unacceptable—provided it happens to power cloud computing, AI, digital services, hospitals, universities, businesses, and the modern economy.
When the project was a solar farm, we heard:
- “Think about the jobs.”
- “Think about the tax revenue.”
- “Think about the infrastructure investment.”
- “Think about the future.”
Now, when the project is a data center, we hear:
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- “Not those jobs.”
- “Not that tax revenue.”
- “Not that infrastructure.”
- “Not that future.”
Apparently, economic development is good—until it arrives in the form of a data center. Apparently, local infrastructure is worth supporting—unless it powers the digital services we all use every day. Apparently, communities should welcome projects that consume electricity, but oppose projects that create the demand that justifies building new generation in the first place.
Nobody is suggesting that every data center belongs in every location. In fact, communities deserve thoughtful planning, transparency, and responsible development. But let’s at least be honest about the debate.
If tax revenue, jobs, infrastructure investment, and community benefits were compelling reasons to support community solar, they don’t magically become bad reasons when the project is a data center. The question isn’t whether we support community infrastructure. The question is whether we support it consistently. It will be interesting to see how the community solar advocates feel about having community data too.
About the Author: affordableenergy
