By Mike Smith, Montana Standard
Steve McGrath speaks at a forum on data center concerns on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the copper lounge at Montana Tech. Looking on is Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. Photo via Mike Smith, mike.smith@mtstandard.com.
Citizen and environmental watchdogs are waving caution flags about proposed data centers in Butte, saying they consume massive amounts of water and electricity and could lead to much higher power bills for residents.
“A lot of people have already heard the data center side — that they’re great for the economy, they’re great for jobs, they’re great for everybody and everything,” Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, told about 70 people at a forum on the issue in Butte Thursday night. “But a lot of other places in the nation have been experiencing something very different.”
