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On Tuesday Governor Washington Bob Ferguson signed Executive order Creating a team to evaluate the impact of data centers on energy consumption, state tax revenues and job creation.
The order follows Investigation Seattle Times-Propublica Last year, in pure energy and economic impact of the data industry in the state, the basis of modern Internet. Data processing centers are composed of structures filled with computer servers-containing some of the largest tax benefits in Washington. They require a large amount of electricity, the need that is expected only with increasing dependence on artificial intelligence.
“We need to ensure that Washington remains a leader in technology and sustainability – these experts will help us do it,” Fergusan said in A, Issue of the news. “This group will help us balance the growth of the industry, the needs of tax revenues, energy restrictions and stability.”
Ferguson’s order, one of the earliest action, after he took over this year, authorizes the working group of state officials and interested parties to study the impact of data centers and recommend a policy that balanced the industry with the needs energy and sustainability, according to the executive order. This includes an assessment of the reliable tax benefits of the state for the data centers of data centers, the governor’s office reports.
State legislators prompted the sharp growth of the data centers of data centers, offering profitable tax benefits in the name of attracting jobs to the countryside. Last year, The Times and PROPBLICA reported that data centers had grown into a large electricity consumer in some of the greenest Washington counties, threatening the region’s capacity to meet the demand for electricity, stopping fossil fuels.
In 2022, the then gov. Jay Inslee has blocked efforts to study electricity use at the data center, news organizations said. State legislators included a provision on measuring how many power centers are used in a bill that has expanded the tax benefits for the industry. Inslee signed a law on expanding tax benefits but vetoed.
Last year, the IS-office stated that the study would duplicate the work of regional energy planners, which produced extensive projections for the use of data centers in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean. However, no agency and business entity evaluated the growing energy requirements in Washington, or the influence of the state’s tax benefits on its power grid.
As of July, at least 87 data centers lived in Washington, the website reports in the Baxtel industry.
The Ferguson’s Working Group is headed by the Income Department, a state agency responsible for determining the suitability centers for tax benefits.
The Ferguson team includes participants in state bodies responsible for tax benefits, net energy goals, environment and utilities regulation, as well as private representatives of work and data centers.
In addition to studying energy consumption, the Ferguson’s office said the working group will consider creating jobs in this field – a key measure to understand the success of Washington’s tax stimulation program, which has been protected from transparency and accountability for years.
It is unclear how many high -paying technological jobs has created tax benefits in some data processing centers since state income officials cannot say.
According to the governor’s office, the group is instructed to create conclusions and recommendations.
