AJC’s recent column “Georgia has questions about data centers, Amazon has answers” by Shannon Kellog, VP of public policy at Amazon Web Services put corporate-scale public-relations budgeting on full display. However, after deftly handling self-posed questions about water use and energy costs, by failing to ask and answer other pertinent questions Mr. Kellog misled readers about the consequences of Amazon’s “planned $11 billion investment in Georgia.”
For instance, using air-cooling helps conserve water resources, but the heat removed will be conveyed to areas surrounding the Amazon datacenter. Research shows that datacenters release massive amounts of waste-heat, raising local air temperature by up to 4°F and land-surface temperature as much as 16°F. This thermal pollution intensifies so-called ‘heat-islands,’ unfairly increasing air-conditioning dependency and costs for nearby residents. Moreover, datacenter overheating also seriously harms wildlife and community health.
Another conspicuously omitted factor is producing dirty energy for Amazon’s proposed datacenter. Heat-trapping carbon-dioxide emissions by Georgia Power ‘s massive generation of electricity for Amazon with natural gas will further worsen overheating problems.
Because data center thermal pollution poses well-substantiated risks to public health and the environment, Georgia’s General Assembly and Congress must adopt strict legal controls on the size, location, and environmental impacts of these facilities.