Mention the term “Google cloud” in The Dalles, Oregon, and you’re likely to get a different reaction than in most places, especially from the local pilot population. Google has a massive data center there that is constantly expanding to meet the needs of artificial intelligence. The cooling towers that keep all those servers happy are actually changing the local weather, including at Columbia Gorge Regional Airport, less than a mile away. When conditions are right, the steam from the cooling towers forms a mat of fog over the picturesque community on the banks of the Columbia River. Google actually seems kind of proud of it. A picture of the plumes of steam is featured in the “Milestones of Progress” section of its web page on the facility.
It’s clear many local residents would like to go back to the old days when they could see the sun on still days, however. There is no data available on airport disruptions, but a poster on Facebook described it as “undeniable problem in winter.” The economic benefits of the facility are also undeniable, however. Google says it’s poured $2.4 billion into the facility so far and about 200 people work there.
Unfortunately I think those data centers are here to stay just like self checkout and drive through fast food.
2.4 billion dollars and they employ a whopping 200 people. Pathetic
Agreed. I get people want to work, areas need jobs, but as a county official I’d think to reject such a facility in my area. They may create jobs, but they also run up electric and water bills. They add nothing of real value either locally or globally as LLMS begin to peak out.
Also, for that 2.4 billion, what is the salary of those workers. If it is low (my guess) then the gain in tax revenue from labor is minuscule and no doubt Google is paying s#$t in local taxes.
It is about time we humans start saying No to the exploitation of our land to data centers (and massive corporations) that really don’t give a flying F about the damage they do.
I have to sacrifice so Google gets to make more money?
Don’t forget that the $2.4B went to engineers and architects who designed it, the electronics manufacturers who built the hardware, the construction companies that built the facility, plus all of the upstream vendors and contractors who provided services or products. A $2.4B investment means thousands of people in different fields got paid for a long time just to build the data center. Operating it is a different story.
As a longtime reporter in The Dalles, I was here when Google came in, disguised as “O2” and secret to the point of paranoia. The initially refused to report the number of employees until I pointed out that they were required to demonstrate – 5 years later – that the average salary of their employees was 150% of the average salary in Wasco County from the time they signed a 15-year Enterprise Zone agreement. I had to have the DA send a letter to the city, which was managing the Enterprise Zone, to divulge then number, which was then 50.
Mr. Niles, if you’re reading this, would you give permission for Gorge Country Media (radio stations Y102, Star FM, The Rock and KLCK-AM) to publish the photo and story on their website, with full credits of course, and/or to have it appear in the Columbia Gorge News and Goldendale Sentinel.
Thanks – my Google Alerts led me to this article, which is a bit of karma…
Rodger
I live in Jersey City, NJ, 3rd generation, and since 2008 developers have had a frenzy “developing” small communities into back to back skyscrapers. Traffic is as far as the eye can see, literally, on residential sidestreets as well as main thoroughfares. Every week we hear of a sewer or main pipe break. Because the infrastructure cannot handle it all. Furniture has soot from the idling traffic. I sit on a subcommittee for Open Space developing, since there isso little left. I cannot tell you what opening Pandora’s box is like living it, other than stressful.
Today I read the County Executive Craig Guy’s Report for Hudson Co. Congressman Rob Menendez introduced a bill to prohibit non-essential helicopter use within 20 miles of the Statue of Liberty. Unreal.