Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has praised residents of St. Charles, Missouri, after public pressure reportedly forced developers to withdraw plans for a massive data center project that sparked concerns over energy, water and property values.
St. Charles Residents Force Fortune 100 Company To Drop Data Center Plan
Hundreds of residents in St. Charles packed an open house last week, many wearing red shirts to show opposition to a proposed 440-acre data center near Highway 370 and Hayford Road.
Homeowners argued the project would contaminate water supplies, raise energy bills and lower property values.
The company behind the plan remains undisclosed. However, its lawyer, Korb Maxwell, said that the client is a Fortune 100 company planning a large-scale facility, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Maxwell argued that such projects typically remain confidential during early stages and would ultimately benefit the region.
But on Tuesday, progressive outlet More Perfect Union reported the developers had withdrawn their offer following weeks of opposition from residents and city officials.
Sen. Sanders Praises Local Resistance
Sen. Sanders applauded the decision and took to X, formerly Twitter, to say, “Congratulations to the people of St. Charles, MO for fighting back against a new data center that would use massive amounts of energy and water.”
“This shows what happens when people stand up to unfettered corporate greed,” he added.
Data Centers Driving Energy Surge
The clash in Missouri underscores a national debate over the rapid expansion of data centers. According to McKinsey & Co., these facilities now account for 5% of total U.S. electricity demand, a share that could more than double within five years.
The Kobeissi Letter warned that “energy will soon be the AI bottleneck,” pointing to data centers as the driver of up to 40% of new electricity demand through 2030.
Beyond power, water consumption for cooling is projected to jump 170% by 2030, raising environmental concerns in communities nationwide.
$6.7 Trillion Global Buildout Underway
McKinsey estimates nearly $7 trillion will be spent on data center infrastructure by 2030, with more than 40% of that in the U.S. Roughly $4 trillion will go toward computing hardware, while the rest will fund real estate, energy infrastructure and utilities.
Hyperscalers such as Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Web Services, Microsoft Corporation’s MSFT Azure and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google Cloud are fueling demand, investing billions in large campuses to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
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