Henrico County, in Virginia (United States), has 37 data centers on its territory. And yet, it has asked its schools and public buildings to save electricity to reduce costs. The paradox is perfect: while tech giants fill the county with servers that consume energy nonstop, schools have to turn off the lights and computers when leaving class.
The county’s chief operating officer, John Vithoulkas, sent an internal email asking employees to turn off equipment at the end of the day, limit the use of portable heaters, and adjust the blinds to make the most of sunlight. The message, uncovered by the outlet 404 Media, says verbatim that “every dollar we save on electricity is a dollar we can reinvest in staff and services”. Meanwhile, the data centers —which consume a huge amount of energy to keep servers running and cool them— continue operating without restrictions.
This case is not isolated. In many regions of the world, the massive arrival of data centers linked to artificial intelligence is driving up electricity consumption and straining local grids. What is happening in Henrico is a warning of what can happen when technology grows without planning: that citizens and public services end up paying the price. The solution is not about turning off computers in schools, but about demanding that data centers be more efficient, use renewable energy, and contribute to the grid they consume so heavily.
— Marta, for intermittent intelligence.
