Dark Clouds - To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World - page 126

to meet the company's electrical-power needs. The data center's general
manager complained that the utility was slow to bring on board a substa-
tion that would provide 48 million watts of power to the Microsoft facility,
or enough to power about 30,000 homes. Arguing that slow construc-
tion “dramatically affects our agility as a business,” the Microsoft oficial
informed the utility that “our conidence is becoming quite shaky” and
wondered if, in the absence of speedier construction, the company might
be eligible for $700,000 in reimbursements. This struck one utility oficial
as demonstrating “a level of arrogance” and confounded others, including
a retired schoolteacher who had felt that “Microsoft would bring a little
class to the town” (ibid.).
Despite its problems with Microsoft, the town has not turned its back
on data centers, approving construction for Yahoo! and Dell, also attracted
by the promise of cheap power and tax breaks. By the end of 2012, little
Quincy had two supermarkets, two hardware stores, and six data centers,
with ive more under construction, but no movie theater or Main Street.
Some town residents and businesses worry that, with many companies
now chasing lower utility costs, the power company might have to raise
rates for local customers. They are also concerned that power-hungry
data centers might create an actual power shortage, a remarkable irony
given the town's proximity to the Columbia River and its hydroelectric
dams. A local fruit grower in the area concluded that the overall impact
has been much less positive than most people imagined: “I don't think
it's beneiting Quincy.” Although he recognizes the importance of data
centers to the American economy, “I think,” he said, “we're taking one
for the team, to tell you the truth” (ibid.).
While details may differ, there is nothing particularly unusual about
Quincy's experience with the cloud. Many people are now “taking one for
the team” to build and operate cloud computing systems. Indeed, incidents
of legal action for alleged violations of environmental regulations, utility
agreements, promised employment for local residents, and other related
issues come up time and time again after the cloud arrives. This led Glanz
to conclude, “When these Internet factories come to town, they can feel
a bit more like old-time manufacturing than modern magic” (ibid.). Nor
do they feel like the clouds described in promotional accounts. As long
as environmental oficials in Washington State and local citizens in places
like Quincy continue to think of data centers as clouds rather than as