Last week I took a daylong field trip touring a giant data center near Dulles International Airport in Loudon County, Virginia.
The “cloud,” by the way, is the hardware that stores trillions of data files, research, love letters, the entirety of the Library of Congress and virtually everything else ever written, invented or retrievable online.
The cloud is synonymous with “data center.”
Many people don’t realize that without these massive data centers — that have somehow been demonized by everyone across the political spectrum from Elizabeth Warren to Steve Bannon — there is no internet, there is no data storage, there are no iPhone apps, there is no GPS, there is no missile defense system, there is no Uber, and there are no Amazon deliveries.
I am well aware that Americans are very split on the benefits of data centers, and the majority of voters say they don’t want one anywhere near their community. I’m in favor of letting voters of every community decide whether they want a data center or not.
But I also believe that if people actually visited a data center, as I did, they would be astounded by the jaw-dropping technological wizardry that lies within.
If you get the chance to tour one of these facilities, take it. And take your kids.
These data centers are multibillion-dollar industrial and engineering marvels. They (SET ITAL)are(END ITAL) the central nervous system of our future communications, commerce, health care, entertainment and national defense.
The data center I visited stores two football fields of state-of-the-art equipment that keeps the internet functioning and records and responds to billions of online tapping around the globe every minute. The speed and efficiency of these operations is mind-numbing. Contrast it with 1950s telephone switchboard operators connecting every phone call manually. Data centers are doing billions of transactions and computations across the country to service tens of millions of users every minute.
I wish I could have taken photos, but they are not permitted. Data center companies spend millions of dollars on security. They are rightly worried about drone attacks or Chinese espionage. If a terrorist took out a handful of our data centers, our economy would crash.
The Virginia data center pays way more than its fair share for the energy it uses and has lowered costs for homeowners and local businesses. That should be standard practice for all future facilities.
It provides more than a thousand jobs and helps pay for the schools, parks, police, hospitals and Little League fields.
I have rarely seen so many construction workers, heavy-load trucks and massive Caterpillar machines, and I don’t even know what they do. This is economic progress. It is the future of our digital economy.
I can’t help wondering what would have happened if Henry Ford confronted anything like the anti-data center movement over 100 years ago when he came to Michigan to build auto plants. What if people had blocked the plants from being built because they were too noisy, used too much energy and water, and polluted the air?
Then I wonder how angry Americans would be if they couldn’t access the internet or all their private information, or if their phones and computers didn’t work.
Over the next decade, we need to build about three times as many data centers as we have now. If we don’t build them, we fall behind technologically. America can’t let that happen.
Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.
COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Flock Cameras are tied to data centers.
Do you remember the TV show series “Person of Interest”? Talk about mass surveillance, it’s becoming reality right before our eyes.
Most people never think about data storage. It is appalling to me that my personal data could be stored in one of those places, and accessed by people with whom I have no connection. If they only store public data, all well and good, but will it end there?
By and large, I usually agree with Mr. Moore, but this time, not so much. We already have Amazon deliveries, we already have online research and all the stuff he named. Therefore it remains a question of why do we need thousands and thousands of YUGE data center around every corner? My guess is Mr. Moore doesn’t have to worry about his home or farm stripped from him to make room for yet another data center. There are plenty of people who do. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a local Tennessee lady who told me the story of her grandparents who had their farm taken from them for “market value” for the TVA project. The inundated area didn’t come anywhere near their property so they went back to ask the land be sold back to them for the purchase price. Oh, no. Not possible. Instead it was sold to a big land developer who made an absolute killing on the newly “lake front” property for what is now a gated community with multimillion dollar homes, a golf course and a bunch of out of state rich folks. This “project” sounds much like that scenario. I may have become disenchanted with the government overreaching to the detriment of the citizens.
Please tell me more about these 1000 employees. Most of the Data Centers employ a lot fewer (25-30). Tell me about all the water they use for cooling. Tell me about all the noise they create. Yes there is a need but there are also a lot of negatives that also need to be addressed. Those negatives are solvable but it cost more money that most of them are unwilling to pay.
I have been in data centers as part of my job responsibilities. Spotless with virtually no outside disturbances. Not sure about the job creation aspect in general. I suppose it depends upon any particulate center’s functions. One can grouse about the invasion of privacy but Orwell’s 1984 Big Brother is being added and abetted by all of those folks who want license plate readers, stoplight cameras and their Alexis and Ring contraptions. That is not my cup of tea but to each their own. America is an (almost)free country. But that is a topic for another day.
I haven’t seen any discussion of the insane amount of acreage these places take up. They aren’t making any more farm land. I think we should have a moratorium on new construction until all the pros and cons and long term consequences of these data centers are sorted out and common sense codes put in place. Like everything else in the digital age, they are moving forward with these centers with reckless abandon with no concern for anyone or anything in their way.
The two complaints I have heard about Data Centers is they use up so much Power the local Electric Company if forced to raise it’s rates. Why that would be (except for an excuse) has never been clear to me. The other objection I’ve heard is that they are VERY noisy. You didn’t mention either in this article even to debunk those claims. Perhaps a follow up article is in order?
Data centers do NOT pay their way in energy. That is the most BS I’ve heard since reading some politicians platforms.
What Steve Moore doesn’t tell us that data center require masses amount to energy (electrical), which “green energy” sources and current infrastructure are not reliable enough to handle the load requirements. Also, these centers will need massive amount of water to keep cool. The drought the west is going through now, current water system cannot handle the increased demand with adversely affect existing demands.
Also, many of the systems, he mentioned were available before data systems and even internet came on line.
I read about some proposed data centers in my late great state of central hellinois. The local residents in the cities (not mine) rightfully went bonkers against it. The power required was astronomical and they rightly assumed their electricity rates would go up to cover it for locals!! The gubbernor prickster eventually said that if a firm wanted to setup a data center, they’d have to provide their own power supply. I have to respect him for it as it was the right thing to do and naturally nixed all the plans of companies who wanted to setup centers in rural areas and wanted to suck electricity off local lines!
Why A Data Center why not a Backbone no Data just a link to link the rest together Why is it we allow them to use our Data its who we are what we are and what we do why make a Data Bank and not a Backbone to make it work without the Data Its how it was now You are for sale ???
I HEAR/READ ABOUT DATA CENTERS EVERY DAY WITHOUT REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY ARE. THIS HELPS. YEA, NO STOPPING THEM NOW AND I SUPPOSE KEY TO OUR FUTURE. ONWARD AND UPWARD.
Things are moving too fast and too many rely on tech instead of themselves and the others around them. And where is God in all this? We should all be putting Him first not a data center! Sorry but yes I use technology but at what cost to our health and spirituai life? Kids don’t play outside in my neighborhood, I rarely see folks out for a walk, and are we really engaging in the things that matter? All this tech is leading to transhumanism which is demonic! Let’s center our lives on God and helping our neighbors which is way more important to our eternal life than just using the newest gadget!
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT AI DATACENTERS: Maybe premature–not ready–like using steam engines to power spacecrafts
WHAT IF there should be a technological quantum breakthrough that is smaller, highly efficient, uses less power and resources, and able to run AI models at a fraction of the cost?
HISTORIC EXAMPLES:
– The Transistor replaced vacuum tubes; made computers smaller, faster, and more reliable
– The integrated circuit made microprocessors and modern computing architecture possible
– The MOSFET (metallic oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) dominates all digital logic and memory; basis of CPUs, GPUs, RAM, SSD controllers
Together, these discoveries transformed computing from room‑sized machines into the compact, powerful devices we use today. The transistor started the revolution, the integrated circuit accelerated it, and the MOSFET made it infinitely scalable.
The mobile battery powered devices of today that fit in a pocket have greater computing power than the building sized vacuum tube computers that were revolutionary in the 1950s–which required large HVAC system for cooling and consumed lots of electricity.
ENIAC (1946, operated into the 1950s) Consumed about 150 kW of electricity and required dedicated power lines and massive cooling systems; ENIAC alone needed 30 tons of cooling.
UNIVAC I (1951) Consumed about 120 kW.
The longevity of these was short. With thousands of vacuum tubes in a single machine, failures were constant, and the mean time between failures (MTBF) for the computer could be hours or even minutes. ENIAC was in active service for a little over 8 years.
It was turned on at Aberdeen Proving Ground on July 29, 1947, and remained in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
SO IF there should be a similar power, size, and cost reduction of AI hardware requirements, what will happen to the mega-facilities now in planning? Will they be torn down like old shopping malls (In Maryland: White Flint, Lake Forest, etc.) when the technological breakthrough is realized?
FINANCIAL REPRECUSSIONS: (short list)
After the technological breakthrough, who will pay for the decommissioning outmoded facilities?
What will the scheduled (tax deductible) depreciation be? Unlike real estate, vehicle, tool, and other common depreciation schedules, there are new considerations here for obsolescence (ex. like a new iPhone model making the older model obsolete).
I worked in the IT department for county government for over 30 years. Progress is inevitable. We do need data centers. My biggest opposition is that new ground is broke for these centers while hundreds of shopping malls stand dormant, empty. Why not use these sites instead of bulldozing an empty field. I just hate seeing so much of our land being developed, while these old shopping centers decay.
I know data centers are necessary, just wish there was a different approach to building them.
I am and have been an AMAC member for years. Pleased and supportive so far.
Not with this. I don’t care who says what. The internet has existed for decades. Data centers do not need to exist for the internet to work. Aside from that, I lived for most of my life without the internet, cell phones too for that matter; happily so. I do not use GPS, nor Uber. Those are of no value to me at all. I grew up using paper maps and still prefer those, if I need one.
Mark my words, as a very well educated pastor, this is nothing more than the back end infrastructure being created for the final control state of the very soon arriving Antichrist control system. Anyone who cannot see this will likely be left here to endure it.
This IS the LAST generation. Any other notion is foolishness and serves only to take the focus away from God’s truth – turn from sin NOW!
Meanwhile I’m doing my part by telling all the people who steal copper that data centers are full of them
My son and his wife live near a new data center that was created in Sweetwater, TX. It creates a constant noise, like a hum, that keeps them awake at night and then wakes them in the morning. It is inescapable! It also creates a “vibration” that makes their entire house vibrate! Needless to say, they are MOVING! Not because they wanted to, but because they HAVE to.
Ok yes we need these data centers but not in my backyard since I live in a small community near the wonderful Chesapeake bay. Build them in larger areas away from houses.
They provide very few jobs one completed
It’s al about the Jews and Christians.
those who side with the Lord will be
the ones who are watched very closely.
cone Lord Jesus.
For years we had internet and were fine with keeping all our information at our fingertips without the “cloud”. Now it seems I can’t do anything without sending it to the cloud often without my desire to do so. I used MSN Office products for years but then they went to doing everything online and involving the cloud to the point that it took me forever to learn the new system and I still don’t like it. I don’t want to save my emails, etc., to the cloud. I liked it when I could pull up what I did without “outside” interference. I see the data centers as more of a Big Brother type thing that will contain everything about me and others and the more data centers we have the less privacy we’ll have. I see bad things down the road and it concerns me.
Those particular data centers may be all well and good. But there is also a need for data centers that will be needed for the surveillance that is beginning. Flick cameras, facial recognition, centralized banking that is in its way. Study what is and has been going on in China, and Europe. We’re nest on the list…
Nay sayers state higher residential electricity rates, reduced and more expensive water as well as noise are major issues as they join in the hysteria surrounding data centers. This triumvarate of ills are all very manageable. First, data centers can simply place a small modular reactor nearby for their electricity. The data center could sell their excess electricity to the grid. That would break the local power producers monopoly but, hey, the data center would not have an effect on electric cost. (Note that regional electric producers are probably promoting the hysteria in order to maintain their monopoly through fear) Second, we live next to the USA’s largest river…water is not an issue Water may not be an issue for other data centers located near a significant river. Further, some power plants have their own artificial lakes for water cooling by simple evaporation. That will work for data centers, also. Lastly, noise can be reduced or eliminated through the application of simple engineering principles. Let’s get real. The Chinese certainly don’t want us building data centers…maybe they are the ones creating the hysteria??
You’re funny. You think you can compare apples to oranges and call it the same thing. There’s a difference between the one data center you visited and the “cloud” we already have and 3 times the number we “need to build” and what that means in practical terms. You think you can compare Henry Ford and the automotive industry to 3X the data centers as if it’s the same thing. Wake up. It’s just AI now, but it won’t stop until they achieve the Super AI they are working towards. Anthropic, OpenAI and Gemini 3 all are planning this and need these 3X data centers to help achieve it. They are already planning a 25k annual voucher to start with, once Super AI is achieved, per person because Super AI will displace all work, jobs, etc. Don’t take my word for it. Look it up, research it. Not hard to find.
The way I see it, we have become totally reliant on technology of every kind. This is the next chapter and it’s either US or CHINA! Does everyone know that data centers have been a “thing” for over 80 years? Look it up. I’ve read that the newer data centers recycle the water after the initial uptake. I have YET to see a comprehensive scientific study on data centers. EVERYONE is running scared over rumors and what ifs.