Washtenaw County Resiliency Office Director Beth Gibbons says data centers use a lot of resources but also can provide essential services. That’s part of a report she presented to county commissioners on Wednesday.
Gibbons acknowledges she’s not an expert on data centers, and she has a bit of a bias as she works to advance the county’s climate goals.
She’s compiling all the information she can at the request of commissioners. Gibbons says it’s a rapidly evolving technology.
“Like most technologies, getting information about data centers is challenging because there is a lot of work that happens in the blind because this is considered restricted information because of the new tech.”
Gibbons says aside from the three potential centers in Saline, Augusta, and Ypsilanti Townships, there are at least seven more under negotiations. She says some of them are likely fishing expeditions by developers and won’t get very far.
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