What are data centres and why are they so controversial?

There is a data centre coming to Nova Scotia and there are plenty of folks up in arms.

Critics say the proposed EverWind Fuels facility for Port Tupper, near Port Hawkesbury, will cause environmental harm, while also potentially adding new expenses for citizens.

But for others, the very concept of data centres is a new one, so it’s worth explaining what they are and then exploring why they create such controversy.

In the most basic terms, a data centre is a big building that houses industrial amounts of computer equipment running networks and processing digital information, usually around the clock.

Picture the stacks of floor-to-ceiling servers routinely seen in back rooms at large offices or companies that are a mass of metal boxes, blinking lights and tangles of cable. Most data centres resemble those setups, only on a way bigger scale.

Some of these servers focus on storing digital content, while others run networks and system processes for large corporations or organizations. More recently, many data centres are being introduced to handle the spiking demand for artificial intelligence. The Point Tupper operation, for example, will support Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude.

All software and digital services require computer hardware to be created, so data centres are used to centralize operations in one space.

Hardware is just another word for machinery so, by definition, these supercomputers are physical pieces of equipment that require energy to run.

Many data centres occupy tens of thousands of square metres of space, if not in the hundreds of thousands for the largest ones. For reference, the biggest data centre in the world is the China Telecom Inner Mongolia Information Park in Hohhot, China that is roughly one million square metres.

So not only do these massive tracts of gear burn through unfathomable amounts of power, they also need to stay cool. Just like any industrial machinery, the equipment will malfunction if it overheats. Many of the cooling systems at data centres use water for heat transfer measures, in some ways similar to how a radiator operates in a car.

Techniques of circulating chilled water around the equipment, and then redirecting the heat outside, are essential to keeping servers from crashing. This is why data centres are often built close to large sources of water.

That relentless cycle of burning incredible amounts of power to run the computers, and then moving massive volumes of water around them to keep them cool, is not exactly eco-friendly.

It’s important to note the water isn’t consumed during most cooling processes but often released as steam. That means it also heats up the environment around the data centre.

It stands to reason the huge power and water requirements at these facilities introduce a tremendous strain on local infrastructure.

While it’s true that most data centres pay their own bills the same as other businesses or households in the community, it’s common for the increased demands on the power grid and water supply to necessitate upgrades to systems. That could take many forms, but the cost to fund those projects is usually absorbed by taxpayers.

To be fair to EverWind’s $10-billion proposal, the company is promising zero utility rate increases and described its cooling operations as being aided by air circulation measures.

“The campus will use a closed-loop cooling system in which a water–glycol mixture circulates through a sealed loop rather than being routinely discharged,” EverWind said in a news release. “Heat will be removed primarily using air, with water-assisted cooling used during the hottest weather. Nova Scotia’s cooler climate reduces cooling-water requirements for much of the year.”

Supporters of data centres point to job creation and corporate investment in the community as well worth the potential environmental and financial costs.

EverWind is estimating more than 2,000 jobs will be created for the construction period, plus more than 200 permanent positions for the long term. And EverWind is also a green energy company that is hoping to expand onshore wind development projects in the region.

Allowing them to set up shop in Nova Scotia now could be a gesture of good will that fosters further development in the province in the future.