There are a lot of discussions being had regionally on whether data centers might be created, and there was a lot on that topic in the South Dakota Legislature on Wednesday.
Data centers are a centralized facility where computing and networking equipment is used to collect, process, and store data.
Wednesday was set as the “unofficial data center day” at the South Dakota Legislature. Across the House and Senate state affairs committees, lawmakers heard eight bills targeting the data center projects.
Several of those bills were killed by the Senate committee, including setting a one-year moratorium on data centers in South Dakota.
One bill offering protections for state electricity and water customers advanced out of committee. One other bill that advanced could allow data centers to bypass a state sales and use tax.
Additionally in Iowa, Woodbury County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Nelson said he is conflicted on whether a data center would be a net positive for the area, if one came to the Sioux City outskirts.
So far no proposal has come before the county in need of infrastructure, but Nelson said they use massive amounts of power and water to operate.
“We’ve got a serious debate to be had on these data centers and bitcoin mines and some of these places that are using massive amounts of electricity. Is it really for the betterment of society or the public as a whole?” Nelson said
You can hear more from Nelson on many county hot topics in our What’s The Frequency show at 10 a.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
In Sioux Falls, an effort to force a public vote on a city council rezoning decision tied to a proposed huge data center fell just short of the needed 6,700 signatures, Northern Plains News reported.
