Thirsty for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West

The agricultural community of Quincy, Washington, population 6,220, opened its doors to a Microsoft data center in 2006. The tech giant sought room to grow and cheap, abundant power from nearby Columbia River hydropower. The data center’s opening saw the owners presented with beans from the last crop harvested on the site. Tedder via Wikimedia Commons

With promises of jobs and hopes for tax breaks, server farms are reshaping local grids, plumbing, and politics. Are they a boon for communities, or a burden?

& the West
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