GREAT FALLS — A growing national desire for faster processing power has brought data centers to the forefront—and the topic has reached Great Falls.
Data centers contain vast networks of computers, servers, and storage systems. However, researchers say that the rate at which they're being built has accelerated in the last year as a result of breakthroughs in computer chips and AI.
Quentin Shores reports - watch the video here:
“Data centers are not something that’s new,” said Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. “But in the last year, we have seen this enormous increase because of the chips, because of the ability to compute much faster.”
These concerns and possibilities were central to a recent community conference in Great Falls, which drew a large gathering of residents, lawmakers, advocates, and civic leaders eager to learn about the possible impact of data center growth on the region.
Much of the discussion centered on environmental impacts, including water use. Guy Alsentzer of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper advised that water consumption is more than just volume.
"When we're talking about data centers, one of the big costs from water is not just how much they're going to consume," Alsentzer told me. "It's going to be put through their filters, it's going to cool it down, and there's going to be all kinds of unknown contaminants."
The panelists also discussed how data centers may be built more sustainably if they came to Great Falls. Ken Thornton of Citizens for Clean Energy stated that development must include renewable energy from the outset.
"I actually thought that maybe it's a good idea to build that big data center here," Thornton said. “But it’d have to be built sustainably. You’d have to put up its own wind farm and solar farm, and batteries, totally connected. You’d have to make the cooling system as sustainable as you could.”
Speakers compared data centers to coal plants in terms of scale: both may create jobs, boost economic growth, and enhance efficiency, but both demand electricity and water; with data centers, the demand would be enormous.
Despite opposing viewpoints, guests agreed that one of the event's highlights was the open and friendly discourse it fostered.
"I'm really impressed by the audience here," said Richard Liebert from Citizens for Clean Energy. "We have legislators, candidates, neighborhood council people—all kinds of people."
The conference not only presented proposals but also educated the public and promoted meaningful discussion about what the future of development in Great Falls could look like.
As interest in data centers develops across the country, conversations like this one might have a significant impact on how—and if—Great Falls participates in that technological boom.
