Data centers a point of contention in the UP

UPPER MICHIGAN (WLUC) – Data centers and crypto mining operations have been a point of contention across the country, and now those same conversations are playing out in the U.P.

Critics point to noise and other pollution, along with limited job opportunities at these centers. InvestUP C.E.O. Marty Fittante says that while these centers bring limited job opportunities, they would generate local tax revenue.

“Definitely provides tax revenue, which is really important in the local communities, and then I think the unknown is what could this mean for energy supply in the Upper Peninsula,” Fittante said.

He says it’s possible, though unknown at this time, that these centers could strengthen the U.P.’s power grid by bringing in their own means of power generation.

On the other hand, NMU Associate Contingent Professor of Business Lucy Miller says that most of the job creation seen from these centers would be short lived.

“Actually, these data centers don’t really bring in very many jobs,” Miller said. “What they do bring in is a lot of jobs for the construction of the center themselves, and then once the centers are built, they’re actually pretty self-sufficient and don’t require a lot of labor to keep them running.”

Miller also points out that the Great Lakes replenish at a rate of around 1% per year, and that data centers could threaten the long-term stability of these bodies of water.

“I think most folks know on a base level that Great Lakes are threatened by these data centers because of the ways in which they require so much water to cool the servers for these data centers to run efficiently,” Miller said.

Fittante says that the U.P. should position itself so as not to be left behind.

“You need to be part of where this AI revolution is going,” Fittante said. “And so, again I don’t think we want to be left out of the equation, we want to be part of it, but we want to be consistent with kind of the fabric of the community also.”

Miller encourages you to be involved in the conversation at the level of local government and grassroots organizations.

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