This is an opinion piece that goes against what is usually in the news. Local resistance to new data centers in Tulsa is framed as emotional and often misinformed, especially around power use, environmental impact, and bills.
The author argues that modern data centers, including AI workloads, can be built with high efficiency and predictable power demand that utilities can plan around.
He points to Loudoun County, Virginia, as proof that large-scale data center development can drive jobs, tax base growth, and infrastructure upgrades without collapsing the grid.
Concerns about rising residential electricity prices are described as exaggerated, with the claim that industrial loads like data centers can actually stabilize rates by funding grid improvements.
Environmental critiques are countered with the idea that newer facilities are far more energy efficient than the distributed IT they replace and can be paired with cleaner power sources.
For AI infrastructure, the message is that rejecting data centers means rejecting the economic upside of GPUs, cloud capacity, and modern digital services in regions like Oklahoma.
The piece is worth a read to understand how one data center-heavy community turned hyperscale growth into a strategic asset rather than a political punching bag.
Source: Resistance to data centers signals support for status quo
