In March, the GLLC partnered with CSG Midwest and the AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues to host two speakers on the economic impact of data center development. Dr. Ning Lin from the University of Texas and Dr. João-Pedro Ferreira from the University of Virginia provided insight into jobs, tax revenue, and siting data centers. Dr. Lin’s presentation focused on work in Texas, which is second only to Virginia in data center electricity capacity. Texas has recently passed legislation to define “large load” facilities as using more than 75 MW of power; those facilities to pay for transmission upgrades. Dr. Lin’s research unit developed a tool for site suitability in Texas that takes energy, land/water availability, labor force, natural hazards, and fiber optic connectivity into account.
Dr. Ferreira’s study focused on a recent study of data centers in the Great Lakes region, which currently has 20 percent of the data centers in the United States. Illinois and Ohio have the region’s most data centers. The Great Lakes is expected to see an increase in energy demand from data centers, with growth reaching 17 percent of all electricity sales by 2040. In terms of economic impact, Dr. Ferreira’s study found that the majority of jobs are in the construction, rather than the ongoing operations, of data centers. In 2024, Great Lakes states received $468 million in taxes from data centers.