Onondaga County is putting together a task force to help local governments make decisions about controversial data centers.
County Executive Ryan McMahon said it will cost $500,000 to create a thorough analysis of the ins and outs of data centers, which are housed in large buildings that hold hundreds of computer servers that store, process and transmit digital information.
"There are data center projects trying to get approved in New York state," said McMahon. "And local governments are not equipped with the tools they need to make informed decisions. And they've asked for help. And we're here to provide information."
The need for data centers has ballooned because of the rise of artificial intelligence. Companies are coming to localities across central New York with proposals to build data centers, and those local governments are asking Onondaga County for help.
"What this study will do is give tools to the locals and their planning boards for issues of best practices on design," McMahon said. "Questions can be issued related to best practices on technology for reclaimed uses of water, wastewater, right? And so they'll have a best practice case study and develop that from what has happened across the country."
The centers have become controversial because of the massive amounts of electricity and water it takes to run them, and once they're built, they don’t require a large workforce.
McMahon said the creation of this task force doesn’t mean Onondaga County supports the idea of data centers dotting the community, noting the only county connection has to do with water.
"We have control over water, wastewater," he said. "We need any project that could potentially use a lot of that to be factored into our regional strategy related to job-driven growth and also related to housing growth."
The state has also started to dig deeper into the topic. Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering legislation that would create a year-long moratorium on construction of data centers. McMahon expects the local study to be done by the end of the year.
