Megan Burchette Newton was on vacation visiting friends in Americus when she learned residents who live there were fighting a planned data center. She wondered how she would handle the news should a data center be built near her home in Effingham County.
Then, it happened.
The following day, July 22, while scrolling through social media, Megan came across a post sharing details about OpenAI's plans to invest $20 billion into a new data center in Rincon - just a few hundred yards from her childhood home.
"I was consumed by it for about two weeks," said Megan. "Consumed with stress and worries and uncertainty and just a lot of questions."
Noise pollution
The Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub is a 2,600-acre master planned park, home to Knight Transportation, Belgium-based
company Aertssen Logistics and shipping giant DHL among others. With several buildings available for leasing, Megan knew the hub would continue to attract more industry - she never expected it to be a data center.
"In my head, there's two elementary schools that are nearby, there's a bunch of neighborhoods and railroad tracks," said Megan. "I thought it would just be a warehouse. I never imagined they would put a data center that close to that many families and the two schools as well."
The planned data center will be constructed between Blandford Elementary and newly built Creekside Elementary.
President Daniel Bresette of Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), described noise from data centers being similar to a server room in an office.
EESI is a nonprofit that provides education resources related to the environment, including climate change and energy. Founded in 1984, the bipartisan organization provides resources to policymakers and works to provide solutions to challenges related to the environment. EESI also publishes articles and studies on their site for the public to view.
“There's also the buzz from the cooling machines and so depending on the data center, you could be getting noise pollution from the servers themselves,” said Bresette. “You could be getting noise pollution from the cooling equipment. You could also be getting noise pollution from if there's an on-site energy source that isn't renewable, so there's a lot of potential sources of noise pollution.”
In an article published by Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo, project manager for EESI, he stated that WSP, a company that specializes in engineering, infrastructure and science found that data centers can emit loud sounds up to hundreds of yards away and that residents who live near them have reported a number of ailments, including headaches, vertigo, nausea, sleep disturbances, ear pain and hypertension.
Faculty at George Mason University wrote that, "The health impacts of noise pollution include long-term risks suchas heart disease, permanent hearing loss, and tinnitus; chronic effects such as hypertension and endocrine disruption; and acute effects like decreased sleep quality and temporary hearing changes," in an article titled Frontiers in Climate.
But without a measuring stick for how that noise travels through neighborhoods, EESI says often times issues residents have are never resolved.
"Because there is a lack of reliable data from sound level meters and because most county or community noise ordinances are written to address noisy block parties (rather than data centers), most noise complaints go nowhere, leading to frustration and lower property values," according Yañez-Barnuevo, who published the information on EESI.
During a phone interview, he added that EESI is still learning about the types of pollution data centers produce and how noise frequency varies.
“Some people have heard a very constant noise during the night so it's difficult to measure and that has really been problematic,” said Yañez-Barnuevo. “I can see that these data centers are very close to the population, so people might be really hearing from that and the larger the data center, the more that noise will get into residential areas.”
With more questions than answers, residents have said they question whether mitigation measures are actually working at other data centers.
“We don't [know] until it gets built and I think that's what's driving a lot of the uncertainty here is that there's genuine questions that are very difficult to answer before these things get constructed,” said Bresette.
Newton said she believes it would be difficult to sell her childhood home, which is located near the future data center facility, saying she could run into the same situation in the future.
"Besides moving to the mountains, how do you really get away from it? It's going to follow you wherever you go. I just never thought it would be in my backyard," she said.
Effingham County Manager Tim Callanan says when he visited a data center in Abilene, Texas this past spring, he brought his noise meter and had multiple conversations on the property to determine if there would be substantial noise impacts to neighborhoods surrounding the future data center in Rincon.
“We sat there and had a conversation, so it was a relief to stand right out there next to the cooling equipment and just be able to have a conversation,” said Callanan. “It was making noise but I can have a conversation at this volume. There's no ear protection required or anything like that so that was very reassuring.”
Callanan went on to say that OpenAI is taking extra steps to lessen the chances of noise pollution.
“What they've agreed to on this site is to have 100% of their backup power generation to be battery electric storage systems or UPS systems, which make no noise,” said Callanan. “So, that’s another bonus we're seeing here that I've not heard about in any other data center location.”
Effingham County released a statement on its Facebook page saying Project Camellia’s power source will be offsite and that diesel generators are not planned for the project.
"Project Camellia is still in design, so final equipment selections, layout and projected sound levels have not yet been determined," said a spokesperson from OpenAI. "Based on current plans, the campus will use offsite utility power, no onsite power generation or diesel backup generators are planned after project completion, and the design will include at least a 300-foot vegetative buffer along neighboring non-industrial properties. Before operations begin, the project will complete a noise study and comply with Effingham County’s enforceable noise limits. OpenAI has also committed to perimeter noise monitoring and regular public data updates. As design and review progress, we will share additional details and address any needed mitigation."
'Shock. Anger...Unrepresented.'
Like the Newton's, Raymond Carver, who lives near the site, was out of town when he got wind of the data center and was unable to attend the open house.
He said his initial reaction was shock, anger and he felt unrepresented. Noise pollution is as at the top of his list of concerns that he wants the county to address. Residents like Carver and the Newtons fear the persistent mechanical hum punctuated by the whir of cooling fans and the occasional rumble of backup generators could become a constant sound in their community.
"The only thing that's separating us from the data center is our community area where the amenities are," said Carver. "I deserve the right of peaceful use of my home or our community spaces. Could you imagine trying to swim in a swimming pool that's 500 yards away from something that's literally reverberating low frequency noise? Our community spaces are going to be empty where generally, if you go out there on a Friday or Saturday, there are probably 100 kids out there that are playing basketball."
Before Carter purchased his home in Effingham County three years ago, he said he did his due diligence in researching the area and at that point, there were no signs that a data center would be built as all the industrial buildings were warehouses or speculative units.
"Once I saw the images that they used at the open house, I could literally see my house inside of that picture that they used," said Carver.
He went on to say that he believes the pine trees that cover a portion of the property are not enough to block out any noise that could potentially come from the data center.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Residents question noise impacts of OpenAI data center I Exclusive
