NBC News | By Joelle Gross
Graphic Credit: NBC News
Big Tech is building big in rural America, where pastures, rivers and fields have become the newest frontier in the AI race.
Widespread land availability, cheap electricity and abundant water have led AI giants, such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google, to choose country fields as preferred places to erect data center infrastructure.
The number of rural data centers could triple if all the under-construction projects and a portion of the planned projects come online, an NBC News analysis of government and industry data found. As rural communities prepare for the influx of investment, local leaders’ ability to negotiate with developers is key to determine what communities can gain, or risk, from living alongside these massive steel-and-concrete neighbors.
Today there are more than 1,300 data center buildings spread out on campuses across the country, according to data from Cleanview, a research company that tracks data center development using satellite imagery and regulatory filings, among other methods.
An NBC News analysis of Cleanview and federal data shows that more than 100 of those 1,300 data centers now operate in rural America. An additional 92 are already under construction in rural areas, with 398 more in the planning stages. Cleanview estimates that about 20% to 30% of planned data centers will end up being built.
The analysis found:
Amazon is behind the largest share of anticipated new rural data centers. The tech giant accounts for 117 of the rural data centers in the works. Thirty of Amazon’s planned data centers are already under construction. By contrast, the current largest developer in rural areas, Microsoft, operates 45 rural data centers and is planning nine more, with an additional 10 under construction.
While the number of rural data centers could triple, the estimated energy they will consume would be much more than triple. The combined capacity of those data centers would be roughly 34,000 megawatts, more than five times the current capacity of the data centers operating in these areas.
New rural data center development is more likely in counties that currently do not have any. About 45% of rural data centers under construction and more than 89% of those planned are in counties without any operating data centers.
There are dozens of ways to define “rural,” according to rural policy experts. NBC News’ definition in this analysis focuses on towns and communities with populations of fewer than 10,000 people, a restrictive definition of rural that doesn’t include many nonmetropolitan areas.
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