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UW-Parkside hosts public forum on AI data center impact
UW-Parkside hosted a two-hour public forum examining the local impacts of AI data centers. Panelists and attendees discussed concerns regarding water use, electricity, jobs, and the environment.
KENOSHA, Wis. - The debate over data centers heads to a university campus. Students at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside held a public forum, taking a closer look at these data centers and the impact they have on the surrounding communities.
UW-Parkside public forum
Dig deeper:
The two-hour forum discussed a number of topics related to AI data centers. While this was organized by students, a number of local neighbors, elected officials, and organizations sat in during the panel to listen and get informed.
During the meeting, attendees heard from folks working in tech, state leaders, and environmental groups to hear their thoughts about these high-tech facilities.
UW-Parkside hosts public forum on AI data center impact
Many spoke about the impact it is having on water use, electrical structure, jobs, and the environment. Many neighbors in the area took the opportunity to ask questions during the discussion.
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This comes as many feel impacted by the proposed data center in Kenosha. During the meeting, people voiced their concerns about what that would mean for their home environment and overall impact.
What they're saying:
FOX6 News got the chance to speak to folks on the panel and off of it.
"Affordability right now is probably the chief concern in people's minds and we have to be sure that when an industry moves in whether it's a data center or anything else that the cost of construction and the cost of utilities don't get passed on to consumers," said Ben DeSmidt, state representative for the 65th Assembly District.
"I've also talked to residents who live around the construction, and I've heard that their first-hand accounts of how literally their lives have literally been destroyed since the shovels went into the ground. Those are stories that need to be told," said Sarah Zarling, statewide data center organizer.
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Just under $5 million is going back to the Village of Mount Pleasant. This is after Microsoft waived its development incentive for its Mount Pleasant data center.
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While at one point things did get a little tense as people shared different opinions, folks attending said they felt the panel was well-balanced and allowed them to learn more.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Abril Preciado and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Ben DeSmidt, Sarah Zarling, UW-Parkside students, local neighbors, elected officials, tech workers, state leaders, environmental groups and FOX6 News reporting.