Latest news with #JonDavis
BBC News
12-05-2025
- BBC News
Safety and trade fears over Newport to Cowes roadwork diversion
A major route on the Isle of Wight will be closed one-way to traffic for up to two months from diversion route for vehicles travelling northbound from Newport to Cowes is more than seven miles. The southbound side will remain closure is needed to widen Horsebridge Hill and install a junction to a new estate, which Isle of Wight Council said would provide "much-needed" social residents are concerned the diversion creates "an accident waiting to happen", with cars forced on to narrow residential roads without pavements. Resident Jon Davis said: "Traffic from Newport will have to turn right into Whitehouse Road against fast-moving oncoming traffic from Yarmouth, which is a very dangerous junction, I have had some near-misses here."The council said the route was drawn up by a traffic safety control officer who considered the width and classification of the road."The diversion route will be monitored throughout... and any additions will be made if required," a spokeswoman said."[It] is on existing roads that already have no pavements; therefore, pedestrians are advised, as they are with all routes with no pavements, to follow the Highway Code... to ensure their own personal safety." Matthew Westwood, landlord of the Stag Inn on Cowes Road, has raised concerns about the potential fall in trade because customers would be stuck in traffic."We have regular bookers, contractors, who are here several nights a week who are thinking of staying elsewhere to avoid the chaos of the extra traffic," he said."It's heartbreaking to hear when businesses are already struggling."Buses and emergency vehicles will be permitted to travel northbound throughout the works."If the road can be open for them, it makes sense to put temporary traffic lights in for all vehicles," Mr Westwood Isle of Wight Council said traffic lights would cause more disruption and make the working environment less safe for the added a crew member would be onsite to help buses get through, particularly to help commuters and children getting to school, especially during exams. It urged people to switch their car for the bus during the road will reopen for the duration of the Isle of Wight Festival in June. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Axios
09-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
The Midwest's data center boom comes to Indiana
The Midwest is emerging as one of the nation's fastest-growing data center hubs, with development stretching from Kansas and Iowa to the Great Lakes states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. Why it matters: Data centers power the AI boom — but their soaring energy and water demands often go unreported and the benefits for local communities are unclear because data centers create few permanent jobs. Data centers, which are essentially warehouses for computers and servers, used 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and could consume up to 12% by 2028, according to the Department of Energy. Construction of the centers is at an all-time high, increasing 69% year-over-year from 2023 to 2024, per commercial real estate firm CBRE. State of play: Columbus, Ohio and Chicago are the region's primary data center markets, but companies are increasingly eyeing places such as Minneapolis and parts of Indiana, where land is cheaper and energy is more available. The Midwest's tax incentives are particularly appealing for companies, Jon Davis, a policy strategist for The Council of State Governments, tells Axios. Plus: Cooler Midwest temperatures and proximity to the Great Lakes reduce the need for energy-intensive cooling — an advantage over warmer southern states. Zoom in: The largest project is the Amazon data center campus coming to New Carlisle, but Microsoft, Google and Meta have also announced hyperscale data centers in Indiana. Citizens Action Coalition has tracked nearly 30 data centers that have been proposed across the state so far. Even though Indiana's data center boom is in the nascent stages, it's having an impact on energy usage. Indiana Michigan Power has estimated that the handful of data centers coming to Northern Indiana will use more electricity by 2030 than all Hoosier households. Friction point: The expansion often happens behind closed doors. Local governments frequently sign nondisclosure agreements with tech firms, limiting public knowledge of energy and water usage, says Helena Volzer of the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. The other side: Our world is growing increasingly digital, and the data needs to go somewhere. "It's businesses of all shapes and sizes as well. They're increasingly relying on digital infrastructure," Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, tells Axios. As companies build to meet that surging demand, energy is a "significant cost driver" and it's in their best interests to be efficient, he says. Data centers house server farms that store our information, along with electrical equipment that gets hot, requiring 24/7 air cooling that annually uses millions of gallons of water as a refrigerant. Yes, but: Their true water consumption is unknown, since most of them rely on municipal utilities, Volzer says. The Great Lakes Compact is an agreement among Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin about managing the Great Lakes water basin. Cities report to the compact how much water they're using, but that isn't broken down into details such as how much is from data centers. Plus: Data centers also use a large amount of electricity, which requires generating water. However, water consumption is attributed to power plants rather than data centers, further obscuring their transparency. By the numbers: Hyperscale data centers, which can take up over 10,000 square feet of floor space and house over 5,000 servers, can use between 1 million and 5 million gallons of water per day when evaporative cooling — the most common method — is used, according to the Alliance for the Great Lakes. For reference, a hyperscale data center that uses 365 million gallons in a year is equivalent to what roughly 12,000 Americans use in a year, according to the Alliance. Threat level: To meet the demand on existing electricity power grids, some strained markets may have to add capacity on- or off-site.
Axios
30-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Inside Central Ohio's data center boom
The Midwest is emerging as one of the nation's fastest-growing data center hubs, a complex trend the Columbus area helped kick off about a decade ago. Why it matters: Data centers power the AI boom — but their soaring energy and water demands often go unreported, with unclear benefits for local communities and few permanent jobs created. Data centers used 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and could consume up to 12% by 2028, per the Department of Energy. Data center construction is at an all-time high, increasing 69% year-over-year from 2023-2024, per CBRE, a commercial real estate firm. State of play: With Chicago and Columbus' energy capacities tapping out, companies are increasingly eyeing secondary markets such as Minnesota, Iowa and Indiana, where land is cheaper and energy is more available, Andy Cvengros of real estate firm JLL tells Axios. The Midwest's abundant tax incentives are particularly appealing for companies, says Jon Davis, a policy strategist for The Council of State Governments. Ohio is one of several states with a sales tax exemption on data center equipment. And cooler temperatures and proximity to the Great Lakes reduce the need for energy-intensive cooling — an advantage over warmer southern states. Yes, but: The expansion often happens behind closed doors. Local governments frequently sign nondisclosure agreements with tech firms, limiting public knowledge of energy and water usage, says Helena Volzer of the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. Fewer than one-third of data centers track water consumption, according to a 2021 study. "That is kind of startling," Volzer says. The other side: Our world is growing increasingly digital, and the data needs to go somewhere. U.S. households had an average of 21 digital devices in 2023, per a Deloitte survey. "It's businesses of all shapes and sizes as well. They're increasingly relying on digital infrastructure," Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, tells Axios. As companies build to meet that surging demand, energy is a "significant cost driver," and it's in their best interests to be efficient, he says. How data centers took root in Central Ohio Columbus' data center boom is largely thanks to infrastructure investments from Amazon, which opened its first local center in Hilliard in 2016. The big picture: New Albany was ahead of the curve even before that, adding centers for businesses such as Nationwide, Discover and TJX. The city wanted to diversify its business portfolio and increase the value of its rural land, Jennifer Chrysler, the suburb's community development director, tells Axios. Even with local abatements, adding the centers increased tax revenue for schools without adding students. The latest: Today, the suburb's burgeoning Business Park is what Chrysler calls an "ecosystem" of tech investments that made Intel's Ohio One project possible. What they're saying:"When you have names like Google and Meta and AWS and Microsoft and QTS in your community, people start to scratch their heads and say, 'What's going on in Central Ohio?'" Chrysler says. "There is 100% value in those kinds of big tech names being here." The hidden environmental costs of data centers Data centers house server farms that store our information, along with electrical equipment that gets hot, requiring 24/7 air cooling that annually uses millions of gallons of water as a refrigerant. They also use a large amount of electricity, which requires generating water. Between the lines: Their exact consumption levels are often unknown, since most of them rely on municipal utilities, Volzer says. Threat level: A recent Environment America report cautioned that this demand may delay the retirement of some fossil fuel power plants or require new fossil fuel generation.
Axios
21-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Data centers to test limits of grid and growth
Pittsburgh is vying to stake its claim in the expanding Midwest tech corridor by ramping up data center growth. Why it matters: As data centers proliferate to meet growing AI demands, a surge in digital infrastructure raises serious questions about energy, water and long-term economic impact. Driving the news: A wave of data center power plant projects is hitting southwestern Pennsylvania, led by a $10 billion campus at the former Homer City coal plant. A Pittsburgh coalition is pushing to make the region an AI leader by expanding funding, infrastructure, secure defense tech sites and private investment. State of play: Most states, including Pennsylvania, have some tax incentives to lure data centers, and the projects often receive millions in state grants. Access to water, available industrial land and abundant natural gas make places like Pittsburgh appealing to companies, says Jon Davis of The Council of State Governments. What they're saying:"Data centers are creating significant business ecosystems around them," Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, tells Axios. Yes, but: Data center expansions often happen behind closed doors, with local governments signing NDAs with tech firms, limiting public knowledge of energy and water use, says Helena Volzer of the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. Growing data center and EV demand, plus aging plant closures and clean energy delays, could further strain Pennsylvania's power grid. By the numbers: Data centers used 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and could consume up to 12% by 2028, per the Department of Energy. Fewer than one-third of data centers track water consumption, according to a 2021 study. Hyperscale data centers with 5,000+ servers can use as much water each year as 12,000 Americans, per the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Friction point: Data centers require large investments but create relatively few permanent jobs, per a 2023 Virginia report that found most economic benefits happen during construction and decline afterward. The other side: A recent Data Center Coalition report touts the economic benefits of data centers beyond the jobs inside them, including boosting local supply chains, employee spending, and tax revenue. Data center jobs in Pennsylvania grew over 48% from 2018 to 2024, reaching 13,452 in early 2024, per the U.S. Census Bureau. The report notes the data center industry supported 154,000 direct, indirect and cross-state jobs in Pennsylvania. Case in point: The soon-to-be-converted Homer City coal plant will become the state's top power producer and promises 1,000 permanent jobs. Still, Pennsylvania trails states like Ohio, Illinois, Virginia and New York in data center buildout.
