Data centers are coming to Shreveport. In August, Amazon Web Services announced their plans to expand their $12 billion project for two data center campuses in the Caddo-Bossier area to $18 billion for three campuses. This expansion has come less than six months after their initial investment announcement in February. The construction of these centers has raised a plethora of concerns from local residents but is greatly supported by the local and state governments.

The Good: 

The three campuses altogether are expected to bring economic benefits to Caddo-Bossier residents. The projects are anticipated to create thousands of construction jobs [2] during development and over 700 direct jobs once operational. According to a promise made by Amazon Director of Data Center Supply Solutions, Keith Klein, “Amazon pays its own way, and the communities where we operate will be better off because we’re there.”

The multi-trillion-dollar company has declared plans for investments that are supposed to ensure the costs of the data centers do not fall upon local residents. These plans [2] include up to $400 million towards public water infrastructure, fully funding the energy infrastructure and grid upgrades needed to support the center through the Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), and continued technological advancements to help reduce water and energy consumption of these centers over time. Amazon has also awarded almost half a million dollars in grants that focus on food assistance, transitional housing, and educational programs to local nonprofits, schools, and community organizations since their first announcement in February. Overall, the data centers promise to bring new jobs, tax revenue, and infrastructure advancements. 

The Bad: 

The impacts of data centers within other communities throughout the country tend to show a very different reality than what is being advertised in Caddo-Bossier. According to a poll [3] conducted by Pew Research in January of this year, more Americans have a negative view on the effects of data centers on the environment, home energy costs, and quality of life nearby than have a positive view. Most of the jobs that are created only last throughout the development of the centers and are sometimes filled by out-of-state trade professionals [4]. The promised tax revenue is often offset by the tax breaks that are provided to the companies building the centers. Under House Bill 827 [5], Louisiana offers financial incentives through long-term tax exemptions that apply to both state and local sales and use tax on eligible equipment and expenses related to the development, construction, expansion, and renovation of qualifying centers. These exemptions will ultimately counteract the tax revenue that is brought in by these centers in ways that we cannot yet quantify. 

The Ugly: 

The data center campus that will be built at the Resilient Technology Park on Greenwood Road alone will span approximately 254.8 acres of land [6] that could otherwise be used or conserved, which is equivalent to just over 192 football fields. Data centers typically operate 24/7, thus requiring copious amounts of energy. According to the World Resources Institute [7], “a single modern AI data center can use as much power as 100,000 homes,” and that number is expected to continue growing. The costs of soaring energy consumption due to these centers have directly hit American citizens with states that have high concentrations of centers receiving the worst of it. Virginia currently has the most data centers out of all states, and the cost of electricity has surged by over 250% [8] in the past five years.

According to an analysis [9] by the nonprofit Frontier Group that monitors the impacts of active data centers on the environment, at least 15 coal-fired power plants that were expected to close have seen delays in their closures in order to help meet the growing demand for data centers. The harmful consequences [10] of these powerplants are known to cause adverse health effects, air and water pollution, and contribution to increasingly severe climate change.

These centers are also notorious for their drastic levels of water consumption [11]. This is especially concerning given the Caddo Parish Commission’s recent vote [12] against a one-year moratorium on the ability of these centers to use water from Caddo Lake. This proposal also included a study on whether the lake could withstand the large levels of water usage.

The need for cooling systems to operate these centers creates a constant humming sound that raises concerns regarding noise pollution. In areas that already have data centers, residents nearby report negative effects on their quality of life [13] including but not limited to headaches, difficulty sleeping, vertigo, ear pain, and hypertension. 

At this time, we cannot fully calculate the impact the new data center campuses will have on the environment, economy, and residents of Caddo-Bossier. There is a lack of true transparency, and most estimations are based on potential, not certainty. Governor Jeff Landry has said [12], “You can go find some bad stories in other states, but those stories are not gonna be replicated here.” Unfortunately, these words will remain empty and shallow until Louisianans can see the effects of these centers in real time. Until then, those in opposition will continue their advocacy [14] and legal battles [15] against their development and construction within our state.