Updated for Our 250th: Admit it, You Want Data Centers in Bay County

Can we have an honest conversation, or are we going to lie to ourselves about the high-tech version of the Salem Witch Trials? 

If you are reading this on the internet, and you have Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, online banking account, or watch YouTube videos. Then you love data centers. 

You just don’t want them in your backyard, be honest. 
 

Now that I have swatted the hornets’ nest, let’s lay the facts out on the table. And it starts with you the voter. 
 

First and foremost, if you want technology to continue to make your life better, data centers are a key part of that effort. 

Second, this not in my backyard approach, can I be blunt here, is BS. 

Third, the real problem is how you vote and what your representatives do or don’t do. Let’s break that down. 

I get the concerns, power rates going up. Let’s explore that a little deeper for just one second. The people that you voted for allowed FPL to build solar farms. At four to five times the cost, which generates one-quarter or less of the power of a NatGas power plant so they could make more money off your back. 
 

Did I also mention, yes, I did here in these pages before. They knew these “farms” are going to leave the land beneath the panels contaminated. So, they passed legislation requiring FPL to clean up after itself. Yeah, I won’t hold my breath on that one. 

Here is an idea, instead of letting them stick it to ratepayers via a Green New Deal boondoggle. We just say no, from the get-go.  

Next on the list is the amount of water required to cool data centers. Needless to say, that is a very touchy subject in most of the country and especially in Florida. 

There is also the loss of farmland in many cases and the potential for that to drive up food costs. Possible noise concerns and other environmental impacts. 

I get it, the questions and issues to be addressed are numerous. But are we Americans or are we the French circa WW II, willing to surrender at the first sign of any inconvenience? 

I also understand that the average person has no confidence in their elected officials to make sure this is done correctly. 
 

They look around in Bay County and see development booming without the appropriate infrastructure being built, and when it is. The cost is being shifted to them so others can profit. 
 

The state limits the amount of impact fees a county or city can charge. Panama City Beach doubles down and cuts those impact fees for commercial developers by as much as ninety-seven percent and shifts that cost to residential owners. 
 

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection makes it either impossible or so costly to do anything. Most municipalities won’t even try if they have to get a permit from them. 

And they all stand around in a circular firing squad, blaming each other instead of fixing what they can fix first. While every one of them tells you they got your back. 

All that being said, I am not Lincoln Lenin Sr. (the southern leaks out from time to time) I believe in the right to self-determination. 
 

If the people say no, then it is no. 
 

Let’s just make sure when we do say no, we are doing it for the right reasons. The men who gave all for this nation did not do so, so we could hide in the corner, scared of change. 
 

They gave all so that the next generations would be free and hopefully up to the task of moving humanity forward.  

Update:

The governor recently signed FL SB 484 Data Center statute that took effect July 1st, and it gives local communities great latitude. Requiring the builders to pay for all the impacts they will have on the power grid and water consumption. 

As always, the devil is in the details. If county commissioners do their job/homework, like anything, Data Centers can be a net positive for your community. 

In places like Loudon County, Virginia, they generated thirty-eight percent of the county’s revenue. And created very high-paying jobs for locals to fill.  

According to ChatGPT, they have over 200 data centers in place or under construction. The key here is the size as is the case for your community. 

The average size is five megawatts. Whereas the larger AI hyperscale centers are approaching or exceeding a hundred megawatts. 

All data centers are not created equal, but sadly, it looks like all the panic is. And a lot of it is based on silliness. 

“They are going to track our every move and eat our brains.” The last part is a joke; laugh with me for a moment. However, this needs to be addressed, so let’s do it. 

There are hundreds of billions of dollars at stake here. Do you really think if you stop them in your county or state, they are not going to just move elsewhere? 

Elon is already looking at putting them in space. They're coming, deal with it, or more like it make the best of it. 

The real issue is with who/how they are using your data. Like it or not, that ship has already sailed. Which means you are fighting this battle on the wrong battlefield. 

The NSA is already collecting and misusing your data. They have even done so to a sitting president. This is the battlefield on which this fight must be fought. 

The likes of Clapper, Comey, Yates, and Rice should be in jail; otherwise, the message is already sent, new data center or not. Your information is there for anyone in the government to abuse. 

Conclusion:

Data centers are coming, like it or not. If they have to, they will just go across the border to Mexico, pay off a few politicians and drug lords or they will build them in space. 

So, it really comes down to this. Are you going to vote for people smart enough to deal with things like this?  Or are you going to vote for a friend of a friend, a member of your church, a person who comes to your meetings and tells you he cares but displays no real understanding of the issues we face?

If our nation is going to survive another two hundred and fifty years. Voters are going to have to get serious about voting and applying pressure on our elected officials after they are elected. 

Like anyone else, their natural inclination is to do the easy thing, not the right one. It is up to YOU to make sure there is a cost for taking that path.