How much land do data center use and of which type of land?

Nobody is concerned about the quantity of land used by an active datacenter.

Local municipalities are having to upgrade municipal infrastructure as a result of these projects -- which wouldn't be too bad, if they can be guaranteed the tax revenue to pay for those things -- and the employer sticks around and maintains their property.

But in a bubble, it is foreseeable that many of these properties will go under when the bubble pops, and local municipalities will be left footing the bill without the tax revenue.

> Local municipalities are having to upgrade municipal infrastructure as a result of these projects

Then they could pass a law requiring the data centers to pay for these instead of banning them outright, should sort itself out no?

Part of the idea behind a moratorium is to allow time for impact analysis so those regulations can be written appropriately.

Part of the reason we have big tech getting away with regulatory capture in the US is because they have enough capital to entrench themselves in the economy faster than regulators can react.

> Part of the idea behind a moratorium is to allow time for impact analysis so those regulations can be written appropriately.

They couldn't do that in 20 years of having data centers?

Will they also pay for rolling back the infrastructure and restoring the land to its previous state after they go bust and no longer need the data centre?

Sure, put that in the law.

What mess? It's a big empty metal box with a heck of an HVAC system and a parking lot sized for industrial use. Just about any less specialized use could be pivoted to at any point during or after construction.

These things only become static "messes" or "blighted" because regulation prevents fire sale and pivot to a new use from being viable.

I lived for many years in the rust belt -- abandoned industrial properties aren't particularly attractive to have in your community. Nor are they attractive to industry unless they're already outfitted for their particular use.

Many of these projects are making messes to local infrastructure, the construction and municipal costs associated with that, the wear on local roads, etc. And abandoned buildings are a mess because of their lack of maintenance.

Data centers are not industrial. It’s a 6” slab with prefabricated walls, bar joists, and a metal roof. There’s no continuous distillation column, smelter, fly ash pond, tailings pond, or anything remotely industrial.

Data centers are essentially an Amazon distribution center that is filled with servers instead of racking with a shitload of electrical and HVAC equipment.

Both an AI hyperscaler and an Amazon warehouse would be typically classified as "light industrial".

> There’s no continuous distillation column, smelter, fly ash pond, tailings pond, or anything remotely industrial.

This is typically classified as "heavy industrial"

Maybe for real estate brokers or city planners.

I use the definitions that the entire construction industry uses. A data center is commercial. A distribution center is commercial. A plastic injection molding company or machine shop is commercial. An oil refinery, grain mill, or power plant is industrial.

It's the normal zoning terminology which is entirely appropriate for a regulatory discussion.

Stick a feather in your hat and call it macaroni if you want, it doesn't change my prior point.

Or if nobody wants to buy them