Full Transcript for Data Centers, Local Resources, and Government Failure

34 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.560 saying they're not good stewards of the environment, they don't 35 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:19.000 do this, they're being plopped down in neighborhoods. This is 36 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.439 probably all true to that part, But the reality is 37 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.840 you really can't blame the data centers. But I'm going 38 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.719 to kind of do it and explain some things to 39 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:31.960 you for those that are interested, those that are not 40 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.479 piss off, you can move on by if you like. 41 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.080 You don't have to listen, but I'm going to kind. 42 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:38.919 Of explain to you where we're at and why things 43 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:43.639 rapidly changed in twenty twenty two so differently, and how 44 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:46.719 you know, how data today is much different than it 45 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.919 was even again just in twenty twenty two and earlier. 46 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.680 So let's kind of start this thing with the problem. 47 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:58.560 So I live in Louisa County, Virginia, and we are 48 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:01.560 very close to what they can see or the data 49 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:06.159 Center Alley, which is Alloudin County, Northern Virginia rapidly becoming 50 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:09.560 areas around Fredericksburg, Virginia, and all that Northern Virginia stuff 51 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:14.280 at Corridor is becoming, you know, per capita, it's the 52 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:19.680 largest group of data centers. And you can say in 53 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.840 the world, be honest with you, because the vast majority 54 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:24.800 of data centers in the world or right here in 55 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.879 the United States well over three thousand plus compared to 56 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.280 other countries. I mean, so it's not an argument. Really, 57 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.719 are we trying to beat China, for example, to the 58 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:37.479 AI race. 59 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.719 No, we're strongly ahead of that. 60 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.840 That is not the case because again, you can be technology, 61 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:46.400 but if you don't have the capacity to to scale it, 62 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:48.759 then it just doesn't do anything for you. And I'll 63 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:53.479 explain all that in a hopefully in an elementary way, 64 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.919 not because I'm talking down, but because it just gets 65 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:02.280 so confusing for people. I go on social media and 66 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.000 I see next door here in the Louisa County area, 67 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:07.120 we see. 68 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:08.759 TikTok. 69 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.719 Social media is everywhere, and everybody's bashing these data centers. 70 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:17.319 They're protesting, and again they they deserve some of the blame, 71 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:21.160 but no more of a blame than we the consumer. 72 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:23.879 So let's kind of take it back a little bit. 73 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.759 So the normal reason that we scale up so quickly 74 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:31.920 is because originally, when it comes to data, it was 75 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.240 warehoused and servers all around the country, and it was 76 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:38.839 kind of dumb. Data means that when we would type 77 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.000 something into Google or any of the search engines, it 78 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.920 would go up into the cloud. So it leaves you, 79 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.519 goes through your fiber, goes to your switching gateway, then 80 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.439 it goes out to wherever it goes. It gets broken 81 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:55.560 into tokens. Those tokens are numbers. Those numbers is what 82 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:58.319 they pay for. Kind of think that as widgets, it 83 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.839 goes out and then it goes through the data center 84 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:04.639 and it just spits you back information that was already 85 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:07.560 out there. So when it comes to the old days 86 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:10.959 when we're just searching for something in Google or being 87 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:14.879 or anything, we're really we were pulling information that already exists, 88 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:18.000 whether it's in somebody's book, whether it's articles I've written, 89 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:19.720 or whether or not it's articles. 90 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:20.439 Other people have written. 91 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.959 That's pretty easy because that's just pulling stored data from 92 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:29.199 a collection of intertwined servers. That's not really power intensive 93 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:33.040 to do that. It's just really a regurgitation of information. 94 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:33.560 That's already out there. 95 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.560 So when people say what has changed in order for 96 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.680 us to have this massive growth in data centers, what's 97 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.439 changed is how we want the information. So if you 98 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.079 were just simply typing in something and you're trying to 99 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.079 pull back something on a topic without it being original, 100 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:58.480 it's basically just pulling it from published data that gets 101 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.360 uploaded into this net network of interactive servers that is 102 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:06.199 your network, that is your cloud, but it is based 103 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:10.920 on physical information that somebody has created. That's easy, and 104 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:13.480 we've been

doing that for nearly twenty thirty years since 105 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:20.439 the Internet's been around. Okay, so really what's happened is 106 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:26.319 the technology of the chips. Ok And what we're asking 107 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:34.240 now servers to do is create very complex calculations, be 108 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:42.680 very freethinking in how they develop stuff in order to. 109 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:42.800 Help us in our daily tasks. 110 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:47.240 You know, today you cannot go and get any app 111 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:51.079 that's online, whether it's your banking app, whether it's whatever. 112 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:53.639 They all have an AI tool, they all have an 113 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:57.800 AI model. Okay, there's a bot involved. Now, this is 114 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:02.639 a freethinking opponent and it has to think about it 115 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:06.879 and give you a response very quickly. That is far 116 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:12.279 different than simply regurgitating information that's floating in the Internet. Now, 117 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.360 the growth of the data centers clearly started in Really 118 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:20.839 the growth started in twenty twenty two when the AI 119 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:25.199 started ramping up, and then again the chips became much 120 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.439 more powerful and the things that it could do. Now, 121 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:33.399 I'm not gonna lie I in full transparency. Most people 122 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.439 know that I own trade Hog. Trade Hog is an 123 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:40.160 AI tool that's designed to help electricians in the field, 124 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.879 but also plumbers mechanical, it doesn't matter. It's designed to 125 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:47.279 pull up relevant codes, so it looks for data, but 126 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:51.720 how it compiles it is very intelligent, and we're constantly 127 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.800 feeding that data so it's not just a copy and paste. 128 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:59.399 It's the way it presents it is very intelligent. Now 129 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.360 we're connect did to and this is no secret. Most 130 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:06.480 people know that there's the data centers that create the 131 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:11.839 AI interaction like open AI, things like at X and 132 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:17.000 XAI and all this kind of stuff Microsoft and Meta 133 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:22.759 and so these data centers will think about what the 134 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.839 response is intelligently and it will create it. Now, I've 135 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:32.720 used AI to create letters, to proof things, to write articles, 136 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:35.159 and then I go through them to make sure it's accurate. 137 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.159 Because I don't trust it. I have to go through it. 138 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:40.039 I can't help it. I've used it to do certain 139 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:45.720 tasks for me, create software, create websites, web web pages. 140 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:49.399 I've asked it to do a lot of things. So 141 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.799 organically it creates these things and it has to be 142 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:57.519 an intelligent component. So there's the chips started integrating this 143 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:02.600 AI capability. And again we can grow, moaning, grown about it, 144 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.519 but you're not giving it up. You can say you 145 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:08.639 don't want a data center in your backyard, you can 146 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.320 say that I don't want to see it, but you 147 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.279 still are using the technology. If you're listening to this, 148 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:19.080 this podcast was uploaded in a data center somewhere and 149 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.759 you're requesting it from that data center to listen to it. 150 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.799 It's you're contributing to the problem. If it's a problem, 151 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.960 you're helping create it. So you can't really you can 152 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.919 whine about it, you can moan about it. I don't 153 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.519 like it. I wouldn't like one right across from my house. 154 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.720 But the reality is we've created this beast, and we 155 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:44.080 created it because we want things quicker, faster, more intelligent, 156 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.759 more accurate. We wanted all these things, and so we 157 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:51.960 want that our banking online is quicker, more accurate. We 158 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:55.000 want all of our search results to come back more 159 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:59.600 quicker and accurate and more detailed. And we don't just 160 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:03.399 pull up documents anymore that are just pre done or 161 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:07.000 pre loaded. There's an intelligence behind these documents. There's an 162 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.879 intelligence behind these responses, and that takes computing power. So 163 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:15.879 the first thing we'll kind of talk about is the electricity, 164 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:19.600 the grid, the power. So currently the power grids cannot 165 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:25.360 handle the rapid growth that it's expected of these data centers. Okay, 166 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:30.039 the megawatts and the gigawatts of power these things are 167 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:34.200 consuming has to come from somewhere, and a lot of 168 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:36.840 times they bid for this power, which ultimately means that 169 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:40.879 in your jurisdiction, your power costs. It might be twenty 170 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:44.879 cent per certain number of kiloot hours, but it's going 171 00:10:44.960 -->

00:10:47.440 to go up because it's a bidding process. 172 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:48.960 And they have to allocate this power. 173 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.559 But the trade off is that you're getting all of 174 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:57.039 the benefits of the AI. You're getting it whether you 175 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.240 like it or not. Now you might say to yourself, 176 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:01.919 don't have that, I don't want it. 177 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:03.960 Well, then you're gonna have to go back to the 178 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:04.759 stone ages. 179 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.440 Because the phone that you're using connects to data centers 180 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:11.919 and has an AI component. Nearly half the things in 181 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.480 my house is connected to the Internet and has a 182 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:20.399 smart feature on it that's understanding, that's always learning. So, 183 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:25.039 whether you like it or not, this is where we're going. Okay, 184 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.759 So the electricity is the first component. And so in 185 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:34.440 our area, for example, we have the nuclear power plant. Well, 186 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:37.879 the nuclear power plant is only able to put out 187 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:43.559 a certain amount of power and you can't just definitely 188 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:47.840 add additionals to it. It's not like the plant is growing. Okay, 189 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.919 So the Lake Anna nuclear power plant has a certain 190 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:57.080 amount of capacity. There's other power plants, they have certain 191 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.039 levels of capacity. So this is why all of the 192 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:05.200 data centers have these massive generators for that time when 193 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.799 the grid can't handle it. Maybe they're waiting for that 194 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.080 one day that the grid goes messy. They can still 195 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:15.679 power it and preserve the information and keep the Internet flowing, 196 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:20.840 keep the AI flowing. Okay, and in many of them 197 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.679 will actually run these generators, and this is why you 198 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:27.600 hear them because the grid in that area cannot handle 199 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:31.600 their capacity and so they have to supplement it with 200 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:36.080 these generators, and that is very costly for them. But 201 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:39.720 it generators do generate noise. It is what it is. 202 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:44.080 But we as consumers have helped create that. Now you 203 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.679 might be saying some people will say, well, that's fine, 204 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.600 as long as they build somewhere else. Well, this is 205 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:54.120 where the problem begins. And it's even before we have

206 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.200 to worry about water consumption and taking natural resources and 207 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.799 all those type of things. 208 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:02.519 Before that, it has. 209 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:08.440 To do with the luring of these data centers to 210 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:14.919 certain areas geographically that are close proximity to readily available 211 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:20.279 power and resources that end up being wooed there by 212 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:24.720 your local government. Now, it doesn't hurt that a governor, 213 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.039 a governor of a state, may or may not make 214 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:31.279 it more advantageous for a data center project to come 215 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:33.960 to your area. I mean, data centers are in business 216 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.120 to make money. They're not lying to anybody, they're not 217 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:39.399 telling anybody. They're just here to be good stewards of 218 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:40.120 the community. 219 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:40.919 Dude. 220 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:44.120 They're a business no different than John's mom and pop 221 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:49.120 down the street, or you know, Susie's clothing store. They're 222 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:52.279 no different. You may not like them, but they're no different. 223 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:57.600 And yes, they do create a massive opportunity for employee 224 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:01.080 growth hiring jobs, whether they're aminable or not, or just 225 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.840 because of the buildout or whatnot, but they do create 226 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:05.279 this in the community. 227 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:05.440 You know. 228 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.799 Obviously, some of that wanes as it's complete and it 229 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.440 becomes online and they get normal number of people that 230 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:15.240 they need per CPU, and that's a whole factor they do. 231 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:22.279 But there's a there's a real reason why data centers 232 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:25.559 are expanding so rapidly, and the real reason for that 233 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:30.600 is the numbers. It's basically scale scalable law means that 234 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.799 if one facility has to run it mass capacity, then 235 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.679 it's inefficient to run. If you branch it out and 236 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:41.000 spread it across a network, then the cost of operation 237 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:45.799 come down. So the reason they're opening up so many 238 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:50.840 is because the demand is so high that the scalable 239 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.000 law means that they spread it out amongst other data 240 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:59.039 centers so that it's it's manageable. Whereas you can't simply 241 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.519 do this, the capacity would not work with one

facility. Now, 242 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.039 some people say, well, why don't they build them out 243 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.720 in Arizona. Well, they're building them in Arizona out and 244 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:09.960 the deserts and stuff. But again they need resources as well. 245 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.120 And I know that might sound good for you because 246 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.000 you don't want it in your backyard, but you still 247 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.559 grab that phone. You still want the technology, you still 248 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.120 want the AI. You want it, you know you want it. 249 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:25.759 You just don't want the repercussions from it. And I 250 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:29.399 get it. So this takes me back to where we 251 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:33.279 were talking about the government local. So the problem with 252 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.080 it is that a lot of times, and again by 253 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.279 no means of I an expert on data centers. Let 254 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:39.919 me make that up front. You know I'll get my 255 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:43.240 hate mail. I always do. This is my podcast. I'm talking. 256 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:45.240 You choose to listen. If you don't, you can move on. 257 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:51.159 But The biggest issue locally is the incentives that are 258 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:53.960 given to the data centers. Now, granted, they will pay 259 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:57.320 large amounts of money for the area to be able 260 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:02.480 to build these So if your local government or your 261 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.639 state is giving such tax break, that and in many 262 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:09.559 cases they're saying, look, you don't know any property tax 263 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:14.320 for five years just to come to our locality. Well, 264 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:19.279 that's the problem we have locally with Louisa Fredericksburg area 265 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.120 or whatnot, is that the council members and everybody that's 266 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.679 voting is being lured by the prospect of money, teacher 267 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:31.200 raises and other things that they don't see the other issues, 268 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:35.480 and that is not holding the data centers accountable. In 269 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.879 other words, you know, first of all, I'd never run 270 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.840 for office. I hate politics. I hate politicians in general. 271 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.360 It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. 272 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:47.279 I think they're all crooks. I trust some more than others. 273 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:50.600 But at the end of the day, anybody that gets 274 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:52.799 in and runs more than one term or two terms 275 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.600 or not in it to help the community. They're in 276 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.159 it for a career and I'm just against that. But 277 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.360 you know, people that sit in the these offices for 278 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.640 thirty years, forty years. I think that's you know, that's 279 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.319 just I don't agree with it. But anyway, that's neither 280 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.440 here nor there. I'm not gonna We're not creating a 281 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.480 situation where it's one party versus another. 282 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.599 That's not what this podcast today is about. 283 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.720 We're talking about the fact that you can even listen 284 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:23.039 to them. Let's say the city of Fredericksburg, talk about 285 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.960 why they do it. If they don't do it, somebody 286 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.119 else will. We want to bring that into the area 287 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:32.000 because it brings in the revenue, that's great, But if 288 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:36.759 the revenue is not structured properly, then everybody loses and 289 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:40.519 the resources suffer. So luring them to your area by 290 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.480 giving them so many tax breaks and so many incentives 291 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:44.920 without holding. 292 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:48.279 Them accountable is the problem. Now, you and I. 293 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:53.279 Both pay property tax. Remembering in Virginia here, property tax 294 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:58.039 is difference in real estate tax, right property tax. So 295 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:00.359 some counties give your break on property tax, not real 296 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:02.519 estate tax. They don't understand that, but they give you 297 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.480 on a property tax. Okay, Well, and the reality is 298 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.720 when you give a company that is literally you know, 299 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:11.279 when you buy a computer for a business, you have 300 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:14.160 to pay property tax on it. You buy equipment for 301 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:16.319 your business, you pay property taxes on it. You have 302 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.920 to pay these things as a business, Okay, annually. If 303 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:22.960 you take something that is essentially a massive building with 304 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.680 nothing but equipment in it, like computers and servers and whatnot, 305 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:31.640 that should generate a massive amount of annual property tax, 306 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:34.000 massive just in that alone. 307 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:36.480 They don't want to pay that. 308 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:41.359 The data centers don't want to pay that, so they 309 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.079 construct it in some other way to say they're giving 310 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:49.039 incentives to the community. But they say this cleverly, and

311 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.160 I'm not saying they're openly being dishonest. 312 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.880 I'm just saying there's a clever way they do it. 313 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:54.319 They have great lawyers. I'm sure. 314 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:59.440 The problem is the council members fall for the easy money. 315 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.079 In my they fall for They make decisions based on 316 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:06.200 whether it's going to look good for their constituents by saying, oh, look, 317 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:06.960 we're gonna pay. 318 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:07.799 More teachers' wages. 319 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:12.119 But paying more teachers' wages doesn't offset the cost of 320 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:17.000 the people that aren't teachers. Yet everybody else has to 321 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:19.480 understand that there's going to be burdens involved in that. 322 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.039 So if you give somebody a tax incentive to come 323 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:24.160 to your area because you want to lure them here, 324 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.079 and you read district land, you change land use around 325 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:31.039 so that they can be there, especially if they're near 326 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:35.519 a residential community. You're doing it for one reason. You're 327 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:37.839 doing it because of the revenue, because there is no 328 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:40.839 other reason you do it, especially as a locality, there 329 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:45.240 is zero reason you would do it, So you do it. 330 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.400 But then you give them tax breaks and incentives that 331 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:51.960 encourage them to pick your community over somewhere else. So 332 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:55.240 I think the problem is like when I tell people 333 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:59.000 in business, you can work for yourself, but if your 334 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.640 expenses outweigh your income, then you're not going to be 335 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:06.720 in business a loan. So when a community offers so 336 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.079 much incentive to bring something here that their consumption, their 337 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:16.079 use is so much greater than what benefit they bring 338 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:18.359 to the community, that's a problem, and that's going to 339 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:24.200 continue on for twenty years or more. So I think 340 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:28.160 that the real problem is not so much the data 341 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:33.000 centers itself. They're a business. They're just trying to do 342 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:37.440 a business. And I've talked before of how data centers 343 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:40.720 can benefit the trades, and obviously they're gonna get built 344 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:43.839 we can't stop it. You can protest all you want, 345 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.440 but hold in your hand how many times a protest 346 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:50.319 has actually caused a project to really stop and see 347 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:51.000 where we're at. 348 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:52.640 Okay, here in Louisa County. 349 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:54.640 Alone, there's like three or four data centers going up 350 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:58.000 and they get protested. Guess what, they're still getting built. 351 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:02.880 You're not going to stop it. The only way you 352 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:06.640 stop it is if you make it an issue with 353 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:11.000 your local government. And even then you need to hold 354 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.599 them accountable. If they vote a certain way, and they 355 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:17.279 vote and make stupid decisions, then they need to be 356 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:21.400 They don't. They don't get a free pass. You take 357 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.839 the Charlottesville, Virginia for example. Charlottesville used to be such 358 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.960 a wonderful city and then they got administrations in there 359 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:30.160 to just tore it up and did not make good 360 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:35.319 decisions for the community and the growth in the origination 361 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.440 of Charlottesville that they've ruined it. 362 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:40.559 And that's my opinion. You can disagree. I'm just giving 363 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:42.319 my opinion. I understand it. 364 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:45.000 The people that'll be disagreeing with that, that's fine. Where's 365 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.720 your facts, Paul, dude, I'm giving you my opinion. If 366 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:52.119 you don't like it move on. But the reality is 367 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:57.279 unless you start taking back and holding your elected officials 368 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:02.640 accountable and being vocal about that rather than protesting the 369 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:07.000 data centers themselves, then that's going to be You know 370 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:11.519 that that's a problem. You have to hold them accountable. Now, 371 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:14.519 how could we hold a data center accountable? Okay, I'm 372 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.680 not going to give you all the ways that I 373 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:16.880 would do it, but I'm just going to tell you 374 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:19.000 how I would hold a data center accountable. First of all, 375 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.519 you want to come into my area. I'm not giving 376 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:23.559 you any tax incentive. If you want to come in 377 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:25.799 and he said, well, they'll go somewhere else. If we don't, well, 378 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.440 then I'm going to weigh the tax incentive. If I 379 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:31.559 give them a tax incentive, I'm going to make sure 380 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.039 that it offsets by what they're

giving me the community. 381 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:40.519 So they should not come in here and win, because 382 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.440 if I'm not getting anything for it, if I pay 383 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.720 one thousand dollars for something and I'm giving you a 384 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:50.359 thousand dollars, break and ultimately I'm not making anything but 385 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:51.319 just putting you here. 386 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:53.519 And you say, well, they'll. 387 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.400 Bring you know, they'll bring jobs, and they'll bring visitors 388 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.119 and people don't go visiting data centers, by the way, folks. 389 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:03.839 So that's not really what's going to bring income streams 390 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:05.799 to your community. Okay, it's not like we're going to 391 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:08.079 have all of a sudden the restaurants are going to 392 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:10.640 be booming. But that is not how it works. Okay, 393 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:13.599 don't be a fool. There ain't that many people inside 394 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.039 these data centers once they're up and running. Yes, during 395 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:20.039 the construction phase, yeah, that'll bring local revenue. That'll bring 396 00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:24.839 some people things like that. But other than that, once 397 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:28.200 it's done, that's pretty much going to scale back and 398 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:33.759 there'll be limited jobs to the community. Limited jobs, but 399 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:37.000 most of the you know, people understand that their people 400 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.079 come from other states to do electrical work on these 401 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:39.720 data centers. 402 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:40.920 They make great money. 403 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:43.480 I saw a report the other day that some make 404 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.480 anywhere between thirty five hundred and forty five hundred dollars 405 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.440 a week a week as an electrician. 406 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:51.839 No wonder there. 407 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:55.640 If they're young, travel around from data center to data center, Dude, 408 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:58.039 you can stack some money away. Remember what I always say, 409 00:23:58.039 --> 00:23:59.839 You work your ass off in your twenties and thirties, 410 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:02.000 and so you can reap the benefits in your fifties 411 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:08.599 and sixties. Absolutely, Okay, So you know it's it's just 412 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:11.519 one of those those things. If I was a damn 413 00:24:11.559 --> 00:24:14.359 young electrician again and I was doing the data center, dude, 414 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:17.519 I'd just buy me a motor coach, put my family 415 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:20.880 in it. Home, my wife homeschool a kid, and I 416 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:24.119 would just live out of a travel trailer. Well, I 417 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.759 would probably buy a nice one because at thirty two 418 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.599 hundred dollars a week, I could afford one, and I 419 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:32.799 would just park it somewhere at a camp, at an 420 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.079 RV park or whatever, and just pay there, you know, 421 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:37.519 stay there and tell the project and then get in 422 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:40.759 my motor home and then go wherever the next project leads. 423 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.759 I'm just saying, stack that money, That's all I'm saying. 424 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.079 So anyway, different strokes for different folks. But the reality 425 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:54.440 is you have to understand that if you're not going 426 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:58.279 to you cannot give so many incentives to bring them 427 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:00.240 to an area. And then if they threaten to not 428 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:02.640 come here because the incentives aren't good enough, you have 429 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.559 to be willing to walk away from the table. And 430 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:10.880 that's the problem with our local governor government, the governor everybody, 431 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.400 is that they don't want to walk away. This is 432 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:20.559 why Northern Virginia is the data center corridor, right, It's 433 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:24.720 they don't walk away, and they're putting them right into subdivisions, 434 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:27.200 just blatantly doing it. And if you're not asking your 435 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:31.480 politicians why you're allowing that, and then you say, well, 436 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.319 I don't care where it goes, I just don't want 437 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:35.599 it in my neighborhood, then you're part of the problem 438 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.000 because you're the one using the data. 439 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:40.160 You're the one that has a subscriptions. 440 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:42.839 Dude, in my house, I've got a washing machine that's 441 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:45.119 connected to the Internet. I have all of my TVs. 442 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.119 Six of the TVs in his house are connected to 443 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:49.839 the internet. My tesla is connected to the internet. My 444 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:53.119 computers are connected to the internet. My employa monitoring systems 445 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:57.400 connected to the Internet, my HVAC systems connected to the internet. 446 00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:01.720 My phones are all connected to the internet. What else, 447 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:04.880 My Elixa devices are all connected to the internet. Everything 448 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.519 is connected to the Internet. Okay, so at the end 449 00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:14.079 of the day, you may not have that exposure, that

footprint, 450 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:18.880 but you picking up that cell phone, you're contributing to it, 451 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:21.160 whether you want to like it or not. And if 452 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.559 you say to yourself, I know I want these things, 453 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.119 I just don't want it in my neighborhood. Then you're 454 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:31.960 a hypocrite. And it's okay, I get it. Nobody wants 455 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:37.039 to stare one down. But the reality is it's ingrained 456 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.920 in our life at this point. So the reason that 457 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.799 this grew in twenty twenty two is because of AI. 458 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:49.920 AI is connected with everything today because we as people 459 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.720 want things to be quicker, easier, more efficient. My time 460 00:26:54.799 --> 00:27:01.640 is money, help me out make things easier. So that 461 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:06.440 is what's happened, and it's not going anywhere. So I 462 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:08.599 would say to those out there that want to protest 463 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.400 data centers, if you think that that's going to change 464 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.680 the data center, that's not This is not going to 465 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:18.720 change the data center. Now, we can push for certain 466 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:23.680 things that local government can write in to the prospect 467 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.240 of an agreement with these data centers. One, they could 468 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:32.000 demand that they use closed loop water cooling systems, they 469 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:35.119 can demand it. They can demand that they create their 470 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:39.000 own on site power plant. They can demand that they 471 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:41.160 create their own water towers or own water, and that 472 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:44.480 they do not pull from wells. They can demand a 473 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:46.400 lot of things, and if the data centers say well, 474 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.279 I can't do that. We know that you can, because 475 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:51.400 there are data centers out there that are closed loop 476 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.880 systems and things like that, and there's other technology. 477 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.119 It's just expensive. 478 00:27:57.319 --> 00:28:01.359 And the reason is expensive because in these things are 479 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:08.200 legitimately energy hogs that you have to wrangle. You have 480 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:12.720 to make sure that you control them. One processor of 481 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:17.119 these new modern data centers a server. One processor produces 482 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:20.559 about a thousand watts of heat inside of one of 483 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:24.759 these racks. You could have hundreds of these processors all 484 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:28.799 putting out one thousand watts of heat from one little 485 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:30.559 chip the size of a postcard. 486 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.160 I'm not lying. 487 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:36.039 Google it, okay, And if you do google it, you'll 488 00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:40.079 be using data centers. So think about it. So this 489 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:43.680 heat has to go somewhere. Well, back in the day, 490 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:47.319 it used to be that air, like a normal air 491 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:49.759 conditioning system could remove this heat efficiently. 492 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:51.960 It cannot do that anymore. 493 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:56.599 These these these these racks now that are clustered, and 494 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:59.200 the things that are size of a refrigerator with multiple 495 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:01.319 servers in there, many of them costing more than your 496 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:06.599 house per server, are so smart, but they run so 497 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:09.799 hot that the air movement cannot cool them. 498 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:10.240 Anymore. 499 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:13.880 So they either have to be liquid cooled designed into 500 00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:19.720 the chipset or maybe back end radiator systems, but they 501 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:21.680 have to be designed in a way to move this heat. 502 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:24.880 And it would take tornado force winds to move that 503 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:26.599 heat quick enough. And that's not how it's going to 504 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:28.200 work in a data center if you've ever been in one, 505 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:33.079 and I have. Okay, So at the end of the day, 506 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:35.680 the only way to do it is to use liquid 507 00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:41.119 cool because liquid cooling is way more efficient efficient than air. Right, 508 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:43.480 Why do you think your car does it a certain way? 509 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:44.799 Why do you think vehicles? 510 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:45.160 You know? 511 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:48.119 It makes sense, right, And then of course you could 512 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.680 submerge it into a non conductive liquid that is also expensive, 513 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.400 and that is what we may be going to. But 514 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:57.839 it's still liquid of some type, non conductive, but it's liquid. 515 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.240 The point of the matter is you could ea even 516 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:04.160 pushed for purple systems or purple water systems or recirculatory 517 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:07.759 systems or whatever. But you have to think about these 518 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:11.039 things in your community. So before I offer to anybody 519 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:15.880 a tax break, as a community, what your counselmen and 520 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.240 women should be doing in saying, look, I'm going to 521 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:21.759

give you these incentives, but this is what I want 522 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:23.559 in return. I want to know how you're going to 523 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:26.160 manage your water. I want to know what the amount 524 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.359 that you're going to take and how you're going to 525 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:29.880 deal with it. 526 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:32.480 And I don't care what the cost is, you're not 527 00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:33.880 going to take it from the community. 528 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.559 Secondly, I want to know what incentives you're going to 529 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:40.319 give us for giving you incentives, because I'm not giving 530 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:43.680 you incentives for me to lose money as a community. 531 00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:50.519 We're giving us incentives, but essentially you're deferring the benefit 532 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:53.000 that's going to come to us. What is the benefit 533 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.759 to us? In my constituents, these are the conversations that 534 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:01.720 have to be held, and these to be open conversations. 535 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:05.119 A lot of times these councils will do these closed 536 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:07.880 door deals or things that really, oh, they're sneaking in 537 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:12.119 an agenda that nobody knows about, or it's the data 538 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:15.480 center people, or everybody talks in such circular terms that 539 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:18.799 nobody can really understand what the shit's going on, when 540 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.000 it should be just a simple question to them and saying, 541 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.880 so where are you using, where are you getting your cooling, 542 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:27.839 how are you doing your cooling, what's your thoughtful power. 543 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:29.880 Are you going to have to run generators all the 544 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:32.200 time because you know the grid can't sustain it. Dude, 545 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:35.119 we're ten fifteen years away from full sustainability, and that's 546 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:37.119 even further than that because I don't think the grid 547 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:41.160 could catch up. This is the reason that Microsoft is 548 00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:44.759 trying to or paying to start up Three Mile Island 549 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:48.400 again for the nuclear power plant that melted down one 550 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:52.680 of the reactors years ago, kind of sat in moth balls, 551 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:54.839 and now they're paying a certain number of billions of 552 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:58.119 dollars to refurbish that thing and get those reactors that 553 00:31:58.200 --> 00:31:59.759 didn't melt down back in service. 554 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:06.359 Why Why Because they need the power. It's simple. They 555 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:08.079 need the power to run these things. 556 00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:12.200 So we have through Louisa County, there's this prospect of 557 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:15.000 running a new high power line in every and there's 558 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:18.160 a lot of people against it. Well again because it's 559 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:20.519 gonna run through people's land and nobody wants to look 560 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:21.880 out and see these big ass tower. 561 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:22.400 I get it. 562 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:28.720 But the reality is without that line, you're gonna pay 563 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:33.160 the price because you're gonna be bidding against power that's used, 564 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:37.000 for example, from Lakena and other power plants. You're gonna 565 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:39.039 be bidding against that, and it's gonna raise your price. 566 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:43.839 If you allow this to come in, then it's probably 567 00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:46.640 gonna help in terms of offsetting the increase that it 568 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.839 would be to you the consumer, because then they would 569 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:52.319 be buying this high power directly from another source, and 570 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:56.440 it actually would help your area. But we're so focused 571 00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:58.640 on what it would look like. Well, I get it, Paul. 572 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:00.440 You don't want a tower running through your backyard. 573 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:07.200 I wouldn't. But here's the deal. It's not going away. 574 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:11.400 At some point a palm will get greased and something 575 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:15.279 will happen. Because the data center growth is not going anywhere. 576 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:18.480 It's gonna happen. You can protest it. All that energy 577 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:22.119 is great, and I'm all about you know, protesting, you know, 578 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:24.759 doing it peacefully, YadA YadA. I I don't have a 579 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:26.359 problem with that. The moment it gets violent, that's I 580 00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:30.680 gotta have a problem with that. But reality is it's 581 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:35.160 not going away. So your your biggest focus should be 582 00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:42.920 rallying around elections, are rallying around putting people in government 583 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:45.680 that in your local And again I would focus locally. 584 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:48.400 I think too many people focus on bigger things like 585 00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:49.799 the presidential election. 586 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:52.440 Election elections in Congress and Senates. 587 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.079 I think that one of the biggest things that people 588 00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:00.319 lose sight of is the importance of your low local 589 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:03.519 elected officials and what their positions are, because they're the 590 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:06.519 ones when the

rubber meets the road. They're the ones 591 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:09.719 that are making decisions for you at council meetings that 592 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:13.840 you may or may not like. And if you're not 593 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:17.400 informed and you're only focusing on a bigger issue like 594 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:22.960 government wide, statewide, or even national, then you're missing and 595 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:25.960 things are getting slidden in the back door in your 596 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:28.679 local jurisdiction that you're going to have to be saying, well, 597 00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:31.239 how the hell did that ever happen? I blame the governor, 598 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:34.960 I blame the president, or I blame no, you need 599 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.880 to blame your local government and what they were sold 600 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:43.320 as them thinking that it was good for the community, 601 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:48.800 when in fact it's not good for the community. Now again, 602 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:51.480 I have nothing wrong with data centers. People say, Paul, 603 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:56.159 you're just so pro data center. That is not true. 604 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:59.920 I'm pro data center because I love data. I can 605 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:03.800 assume it. I have everything that I have is consumed 606 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:07.840 with data, and I get it, and you might let 607 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:09.400 me quit it to this way. I heard somebody say 608 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:11.559 to me, says, Paul, my footprint is so little. I 609 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:14.119 still don't think it's fair. And I'm like, if you 610 00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:17.519 throw a cigarette butt out of your window, you're littering. 611 00:35:18.519 --> 00:35:23.119 If you throw one plastic straw into the ocean, you're littering. 612 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:29.400 Littering is littering. If you convince yourself that your impact 613 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:32.119 is so small, then you're the same person that won't 614 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:34.280 go out and get involved in local elections because you 615 00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:38.760 think your voice doesn't matter. That the mentality we have 616 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:45.000 to change. So I am all for holding data centers accountable. 617 00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:48.360 We need them. They're not going anywhere. The reason they 618 00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:51.840 open so many of them is again, scalability means their 619 00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:54.800 cost to run comes down as they Expand I know 620 00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:55.760 that sounds hard to believe. 621 00:35:55.760 --> 00:35:57.519 You're thinking, well, they got a look. 622 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.599 It might cost them two hundred billion dollars to build one, 623 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:02.960 but if it makes them five hundred billion dollars in 624 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:04.519 a year, then that's profitable. 625 00:36:06.199 --> 00:36:10.079 Okay. The more you have, the less resources. 626 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:13.679 It is based on a single location and it's allocated 627 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:17.400 now across the network, and that makes operating costs come down. 628 00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:23.920 And if you don't understand that scalability and a scalable law. 629 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:27.079 I can't help you. I'm not here to educate you 630 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:30.320 on the understanding of that type of concept. 631 00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:32.519 But it is a real deal. 632 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:35.199 And the fact of the matter is, this is why 633 00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:37.639 they expand, This is why the US per capita has 634 00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:38.840 the most data centers. 635 00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:41.719 It's scalability putting them out there. 636 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:45.920 Googles, Amazons, Amazon's probably the biggest one out there. 637 00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:49.840 They're everywhere. Yeah, they're under different code names. 638 00:36:49.880 --> 00:36:51.960 You have to go digging into the deep web to 639 00:36:52.039 --> 00:36:55.079 find them, or look at some of the holding companies 640 00:36:55.079 --> 00:36:57.079 and then look them up and see who's holding them 641 00:36:57.159 --> 00:36:59.280 or what LLC and then go back. Yeah, you got 642 00:36:59.320 --> 00:37:02.119 to do this little patchwork right, because they all love 643 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:04.239 to use these code names. Tell me how you know 644 00:37:04.280 --> 00:37:06.599 how I know because I work for a large wire 645 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:08.880 and cable manufacturer that surprised a lot of wire and 646 00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:11.679 cable to these data centers. And you can't always find 647 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:14.920 the name of these damn things because they're under code names. 648 00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:19.360 And a lot of it has to do with proprietariness. 649 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:22.480 One data manufacturer comes up with technology, they don't want 650 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:24.360 to share it with somebody else, and then so they 651 00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:26.599 kind of keep it all private. I get it. The 652 00:37:26.599 --> 00:37:28.480 fact matter is I don't care about any of that. 653 00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:33.320 I really don't. What I care about is if they're 654 00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:36.920 going to come into a community, then I'm going to 655 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:40.480 hold them accountable. I'm going to say, dude, I love 656 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:44.559 the data, bring it. But if a locality is going 657 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:47.079 to rezone things or allow them to be in certain 658 00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:51.880 areas and simply because of revenue, but ultimately they end 659 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:54.639 up giving them huge tax breaks to come here in 660 00:37:54.679 --> 00:38:00.119 the first place, that's a problem

because ultimately, no no 661 00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:04.039 business in a city is a business. Okay, running a 662 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:08.320 city is a business. No business is sustainable. If your 663 00:38:08.360 --> 00:38:15.880 expenses outweigh your income, it's just not it's just gonna fail. Now, 664 00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:19.920 in the terms of a city, if you're giving such 665 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.639 incentives to a data center and you're not taking care 666 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:29.280 of your community, then that's a problem. If you have 667 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:31.760 one county that's got three data centers, there should be 668 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:35.480 no dama, especially as small as like Louisa. There should 669 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:39.360 be no damn way that anybody in Louisa has to 670 00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:45.519 pay property tax, real estate tax. Should I would venture 671 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:49.679 to say they shouldn't have to pay sales tax. But 672 00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:52.599 the end of the day is you make the data 673 00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:56.599 center pay it. Well, that's not fair, sure it is. 674 00:38:57.599 --> 00:39:01.519 If you're using our resources, you've been given incentives to 675 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:04.800 come here, then I want something back. What's the point 676 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:08.119 of giving so much incentives and tax breaks that you 677 00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:10.840 don't make anything from it for your constituents, your people 678 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:13.320 in your community who are not benefiting from it, Well, 679 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:16.840 they bring jobs, No, they don't, not that many. In fact, 680 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:19.119 a lot of the electrical jobs which they do bring 681 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:25.119 are remote from other places. They do create jobs, but 682 00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:29.000 then the jobs tend to go away and they start 683 00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:31.360 to level out. Yes, there'll be some local stuff, but 684 00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:33.639 at the end of the day, it's a good opportunity 685 00:39:33.679 --> 00:39:37.079 for electricians, plumbers and mechanical but there is a time 686 00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:41.880 when that's going to balance out and it's good for restaurants. Yeah, 687 00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:46.400 dare in construction, it is, but then once it's finished, 688 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:49.519 it's not like a data center is going to employ 689 00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:51.199 two thousand people. 690 00:39:52.119 --> 00:39:57.719 It's not. So why sell yourself for a short term 691 00:39:57.760 --> 00:39:59.280 game for a long term headache. 692 00:40:00.079 --> 00:40:02.639 The only way you make this viable is to convince 693 00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:06.199 your local officials to scrutinize these contracts, in these agreements 694 00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:11.000 and come up with the way that benefits your community. 695 00:40:11.159

--> 00:40:16.559 Everybody feels the impact of it. Also come up with 696 00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:21.840 areas that allow this type of thing that doesn't impact 697 00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:23.719 the residential folks so much. 698 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:25.320 But if you. 699 00:40:26.360 --> 00:40:30.800 Force them to worry about sound, if you force them 700 00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:33.320 to orbe put up walls around it that kind of 701 00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:36.360 blocks the sound out, rather than just sit the generator 702 00:40:36.360 --> 00:40:38.199 there and try to put some trees along the lining 703 00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:41.039 of it, that's not going to block the sound they 704 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:43.840 can create. You've seen interstates with have the sound barriers 705 00:40:43.960 --> 00:40:45.639 right along the interstate and then you get on the 706 00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:47.519 other side of it and you can hardly hear the interstate. 707 00:40:48.280 --> 00:40:52.000 There's things that they could be forced to do. They 708 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:54.559 could have closed loop order systems, they could have their 709 00:40:54.599 --> 00:40:59.199 own power production forced into them, or submit a plan 710 00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:01.000 for how they're going to do it that doesn't affect 711 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:05.159 the local community. You can force them to do these things, 712 00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:07.840 still can give them incentives, but you have to force 713 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:10.000 these things, and you have to hold them accountable for it. 714 00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:13.599 You have to hold them accountable for it. 715 00:41:14.119 --> 00:41:19.000 And there's nobody to blame at all but your local government. 716 00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:22.239 Don't blame the data center because you know damn well 717 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:23.639 when you go out and buy a car, or you 718 00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:25.280 go out and buy something. You want the best deal 719 00:41:25.320 --> 00:41:29.239 you can get, don't you. You ain't no different. Somebody 720 00:41:29.280 --> 00:41:30.119 comes to do work for you. 721 00:41:30.119 --> 00:41:32.960 You always FoST on Facebook, Instagram, everywhere you go. 722 00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:35.559 I want somebody that's cheap and affordable. Do you not 723 00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:40.320 think the data centers don't want that shit too? I mean, 724 00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:44.480 come on, let's stop being blind here anyway. 725 00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:47.239 So that's the deal. I say. 726 00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:51.679 You have to hold your locals accountable and get involved 727 00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:54.639 that way. Protesting a data center itself is not going 728 00:41:54.719 --> 00:41:56.039 to do you any good because they're just going to 729 00:41:56.119 --> 00:41:57.199 push you out of the way and they're going to 730 00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:00.519 complete it. Because when it's done, it's just one building. 731 00:42:00.519 --> 00:42:01.760 It's sitting there. Who gives a shit? 732 00:42:01.800 --> 00:42:04.079 If you're standing at the entrance, nobody gives a shit 733 00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:06.159 because retail is not going in and out of it. 734 00:42:06.199 --> 00:42:06.800 They don't care. 735 00:42:07.559 --> 00:42:11.719 They're still gonna run, and you just wasted your time. 736 00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:15.760 Your time is better served trying to hold your local 737 00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:18.000 officials accountable. That's my thought on the process. 738 00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:18.639 Folks. 739 00:42:18.639 --> 00:42:20.480 I hope you enjoyed something today. Again, if you don't 740 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:22.599 agree with what I have to say, that's fine. You're 741 00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:24.639 entitled to your opinion, I've just given you mine. Till 742 00:42:24.679 --> 00:42:27.119 next time, folks, Stay safe, God bless and we'll catch 743 00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:29.000 you on the next episode of Master the NEC. 744 00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:33.519 Thanks for tuning into another electrifying episode of the Master 745 00:42:33.639 --> 00:42:37.880 THENEC podcast. We hope you're feeling more powered up and 746 00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:40.519 ready to tackle the electrical world with the knowledge and 747 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:45.199 confidence you need to succeed. Remember, in the electrical grade, 748 00:42:45.559 --> 00:42:48.119 knowledge is power, and we're here to make sure you 749 00:42:48.199 --> 00:42:52.599 stay flogged into the latest insights, tips and code up dates. 750 00:42:53.199 --> 00:42:57.039 If you enjoy today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave 751 00:42:57.119 --> 00:42:59.840 us a review, and share the podcast with your fellow 752 00:42:59.840 --> 00:43:04.760 like atricians and industry pros. Until next time, keep your 753 00:43:04.800 --> 00:43:08.719 tools sharp, your circuits clear, and you're my focused because 754 00:43:08.760 --> 00:43:11.639 here at the Master of the NEC podcast, we're all 755 00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:16.760 about sparking your success. Stay safe, stay smart, and keep 756 00:43:16.840 --> 00:43:20.760 mastering the trade. From all of us here at Electrical 757 00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:23.440 Code Academy, thank you for all your support and we 758 00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:25.599 will see you on the next amazing Master of the 759 00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:30.239 NEC podcast episode.