MASON CITY – A federal government agency announced today that they are investigating energy and resource consumption and usage at data centers, which are becoming more prevalent in the U.S., even as rumors of a project in Mason City are rampant in the community.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is launching three voluntary pilot field studies to evaluate energy consumption in data centers, with web-based pilot surveys in Texas and Washington state as well as in-person interviews in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.
EIA identified 196 companies operating data centers across Texas, Washington state, and the Northern Virginia-DC region. Each company will be asked to report on the energy use of at least one data center in the targeted region. The questionnaire will cover energy sources, electricity consumption, site characteristics, server metrics, and cooling systems.
“A tremendous amount of excellent work goes into our retrospective consumption surveys, but they were conceived decades ago. Going forward, that excellent work will be geared toward faster cycles and finer detail,” EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey said.
Even as officials continue to learn about data centers and their potential impact on any given community where they land, rumors of a project in Mason City continue to swirl. Discussions regarding a potential data center in Mason City, specifically at city council meetings, have recently centered on proactive zoning changes and a specific rezoning request, reflecting a broader trend of data center expansion across Iowa. Places like Altoona and the Des Moines metro area, along with the Cedar Rapids area, are seeing data center projects spring to life.
This month, the Mason City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone several parcels of land located near Frederick Hanford Park and South Monroe Avenue. This is a “shovel-ready” area and is advertised as such by the North Iowa Corridor and the city itself. While city leaders and economic development officials have acknowledged discussions regarding a data center project, they have emphasized that these zoning steps are intended to establish clear standards—such as noise and vibration controls, setbacks, and “dark sky” lighting—before any formal proposal (from any possible developer, not just a data center company) is submitted.
Naysayers in the community have been frothing at the mouth in recent weeks, clutching their pearls on the prospect of a sinister data center being built that would somehow make them even more miserable than they already are. They are losing sleep over possible noise concerns, water usage, power usage, traffic congestion, and more. The gorgeous view of the dirt in the cornfield and the smokey ethanol plant could be hindered, as well.
A city council member told NIT on Wednesday that such a data center development in Mason City could bring millions of badly-needed tax dollars into the community, even as looming state laws might cap how property taxes can be collected by cities in the future. However, any such development would likely be years down the road, he explained. The zoning changes merely move the ground closer to development of some kind, which is the intended use for the area, regardless. Then, a developer would need to bring a specific, community-friendly proposal to city hall for discussion, and so far, that hasn’t been brought forth, formally.