> The energy thing is exaggerated.

https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-energy-demand-to-rise-dri...

> Wisconsin energy demand to rise 40 percent by 2032, driven by data centers, draft report finds

> Draft report: Over 72% of peak electricity load is 'associated with three active data center developments'

https://www.wpr.org/news/we-energies-add-3gw-electric-grid-d...

https://www.cleanwisconsin.org/wisconsin-ai-data-center-powe...

> Two AI Data Centers Require More Energy Than All Wisconsin Homes Combined: Just two AI data center projects — the Microsoft data center in Mt. Pleasant and Vantage data center in Port Washington — will require a combined 3.9 gigawatts (GW) of electric power, which is enough energy to power 4.3 million Wisconsin homes. There are only 2.8 million housing units in the entire state.

Compare with the city of Los Angeles - https://www.ladwp.com/who-we-are/power-system

> In fiscal year 2023-24, we supplied more than 20,749 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power for more than 1.6 million electric service customers, including nearly 6,000 in the Owens Valley.

That's an average of 2.3 GW over the year.

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> The water thing is region-specific and where is a problem it's due to incompetent or corrupt goveranance. Bottom line is that if a data center is using too much water, it means they're not paying enough for that water.

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/15/as-googles-water-dema...

> When Google purchased a defunct aluminum smelter in The Dalles, it also acquired the right to pump massive amounts of water from underground — up to 3.88 million gallons a day. That’s almost as much water as the entire city averaged per day in 2024.

> The corporation transferred those water rights to the city in 2021, Bentz noted, allowing The Dalles to pump more water from underground. The city only obtained part, not all, of the former smelter’s water rights, Mays said after OPB’s story published.

It's the rights to pump the water. Google can pump up to 3.88 million gallons per day and the city can't bill them a penny for that. Also, because it's an old claim, it's likely more senior to other water rights.

https://www.oregon.gov/owrd/programs/waterrights/pages/defau...