In September, a report found construction spending on data centers was at an all-time high of $40 billion in the U.S.
Molly Kleinman is with the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, which has been researching data centers. She says there’s a concern that most of these data centers are being built to support tech companies’ AI features and what might happen when the “AI bubble” pops.
"We’re hearing more and more experts weigh in that the way these giant data centers are being funded is not sustainable and, at some point, bubble’s pop," she said.
A response from city council
In October, WANE15 reported language in the contract between the city and DMI FW LLC, which bought the property for Hatchworks LLC, a subsidiary of Google, included a promise the city wouldn’t turn against Google if public opinion does.
While it makes sense from a business standpoint, Bryce Gustafson with Citizens Acton Coalition said it risks public officials losing their power to listen to the public.
“Normal people just don’t have the same level of power in these issues, so if your decision makers are taking away their power, the everyday Hoosier; What kind of power do they have?" He said.
In 2023, the city council approved the land sale to Hatchworks LLC unanimously. Though, some members of the current council had no hand in that decision.
Activist groups in Fort Wayne have recruited residents to show up at meetings like the IDEM hearing and city council over the past several weeks. They’ve been holding town halls of their own to share information about the center.
At the final city council meeting in November, residents showed up to offer further public comment to the council about the data center and Google’s request for a further 143 diesel generators.
City council has no power to deny the permit. It’s a decision that is in the hands of IDEM and subject to review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Despite that, fifth district representative Geoff Paddock, who is serving as council president through the end of the year, announced ahead of the public comment he was sending a letter to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management about the request.
"I am asking them to sit down with us, work with us, the city of Fort Wayne, Google, the Mayor’s office, city council members who may be interested, other interested parties to find an alternative," Paddock said.
Once again, residents expressed their concerns about air pollution...
"I already have to carry an emergency inhaler around with me, everywhere I go," said one young resident who spoke at the meeting. "I don’t really want to go outside and suffocate in the first two seconds after that data center is complete.”
Following public comment, councilmembers-at-large Chambers and Friestroffer agreed to work with Paddock, IDEM and Google to better understand the energy needs and the risks of the generators.
Sixth district councilwoman Rohli Booker attended a townhall put on by advocacy groups earlier in the month as well as the IDEM hearing. She commended those who spoke for their continued advocacy and how it has helped her advocate in meetings with Google.
“There are things that I heard at that IDEM hearing that I was able to share with them – some of the solutions, some of the concerns, some of the health implications – that if I hadn’t attended, I would not have been able to do," Booker said.
Booker took on the role of sixth district representative after the data center was already under way.
Amid public hearings, council meetings and town halls, one voice has been missing from the conversation about the data center – Google.
Mayor Sharon Tucker, who has been a proponent of the build since she was still serving as the city council representative for the 6th district, said she’d like Google to work with the public.
“I do wish our Google partners would do what I’ve done and try to answer those concerns and so that would probably be the one thing that I am disappointed in, that they have not answered those cries of concern," she said.
Google hasn’t returned a request for comment.
Following public comment at the council meeting, Chambers said the city is planning a town hall that she hopes Google will attend.
Elsewhere in Indiana, communities are beginning to reject data center builds. Marshall, White and Putnam counties have enacted moratoriums on data centers until they better understand the impacts of them.
The public comment period on the requested extra diesel generators ended November 17, and IDEM has yet to announce a decision on the permit. Due to the requirement to address all comments received, both in writing and verbally, a representative for IDEM says it may take several months for a final permitting decision to be issued.
