Although there are no large data centers built in the city, the Municipality of Anchorage has laid the foundations for their development as the demand for these services rises around the country.
In a 10-2 vote this month, the Anchorage Assembly passed an ordinance defining data centers within the municipal zoning code for the first time. The new rules require a public review process before the project is implemented,front-end. Members Scott Myers and Keith McCormick voted against the measure.
Lessons learned from other countries show that while data centers can bring benefits, they also come with increased potential costs, said Vice Chair Anna Brawley, who sponsored the measure with member Daniel Volland.
“By learning from other places and emerging best practices around data centers, Anchorage is working to ensure the right questions are being asked during the application process,” Brawley said in an email Thursday.
A new law need state buffers and enclosed power supplies to reduce the noise and visibility of the data center industry. Their construction is allowed only in commercial and industrial areas, not residential areas.
If the data center developer plans to draw power from the local power grid, he must obtain a written statement from the local power utility that the grid has “adequate system capacity,” according to the law. Similar documents are required for the intended use of water and wastewater.
Recent research shows that a large data center focused on artificial intelligence could use as much electricity annually as 100,000 homes, about the same number found in Anchorage, Brawley said at a workshop on Feb. 27.
“The scale of these things (data centers) and the demand for energy is huge,” he said.
Smaller data centers are already popping up in some rural areas of Alaska. California-based company Greensparc has built a small data center in Cordova by 2024, and is pursuing a second project in Wrangell. The state encouraged their development because of Alaska’s cool climate and abundant land and water resources.
The development of the data center can provide opportunities to strengthen the infrastructure of the network and solve problems that have caused “a lot of energy and few customers to share the costs of the system,” according to a January study published by The Alaska Center. The non-profit organization advocates for clean air and water in the country.
But the data center’s neighbors also face the risk of more pollution, noise and higher energy bills, said Jenny Hyde, federal infrastructure coordinator at the Alaska Center.
By 2024, data centers were responsible for 4% of the United States’ electricity consumption, a figure expected to “double, if not triple, by 2030,” the study said.
“We know that right now it’s something that the people of Alaska can’t take,” Hyde said.
Elected officials recently evaluated the pros and cons of data centers in Matanuska-Susitna County as they consider a plan to encourage high-energy development on urban land.
A March 17 resolution drafted by the Mat-Su Borough Council establishes a two-year partnership that directs workers to work with Terra Energy Center Corp. to find companies interested in building near places like Port MacKenzie and Big Lake.
Members of the Mat-Su Assembly voted to overturn Mayor Edna DeVries’ decision to reject the proposal earlier this month. Members said the development of data centers and large energy users could generate additional property tax revenue and create “high-quality” jobs for county residents, according to the resolution.
Mat-Su Borough has not received any proposals for the data center, Borough Manager Mike Brown wrote Thursday in an email.
“From a planning perspective, we’re looking at public policy related to data centers from other municipalities,” Brown said. “We’ll make sure to look at the Anchorage law.”
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