There’s been a lot of talk about data centers, which have been cropping up across the nation, especially in Texas. These conversations usually accompany some level of panic and oftentimes grassroots resistance to the data centers, but is all that justified?
According to data from the website datacentermap.com, there are already around 60 data centers in just the Houston area. The harsh reality is, whether you like them or not, they’re necessary.
Chris Johnson, president of the American Energy Leadership Institute, says: “Everything from shopping online to your Twitter feed to Instagram Reels—all of that is AI-powered and needs to go through data centers.”
Johnson pointed out that even if you didn’t count AI, data centers would still be critical for things as simple as online browsing and cloud photo storage systems like Google Drive and iCloud.
In the long run, they might actually be a net benefit to American consumers, especially when it comes to power issues. Johnson explained: “This immediate need for an energy buildout that actually has the capital available to it could be a huge opportunity for the average consumer.”
Essentially, because these data centers require massive amounts of power and have massive financial backing, they can actually build things like nuclear reactors—and even small onsite nuclear reactors—that can massively increase the supply of energy to the Texas grid and reduce prices.
Johnson also says that these data centers will increase demand for high-paying jobs in trades like plumbing, electrical, and—at least for a time—construction.