LETTER: Port Washington data center ‘too risky to take a chance on’

To Ozaukee Press:

I live in the Village of Belgium a bit north of the proposed site for a data center in the Town of Port Washington.

I am not opposed to progress by any means, but I am opposed to this construction. The strain on the power grid (some of the costs of which will likely be borne by the residents of this area) and the potential ecological effects of the return of cooling water to Lake Michigan that the data center is likely to exert are too risky to take a chance on.

The economic return to the area from the data center is also likely to not be very significant. Data centers are very automated and do not require a large amount of personnel to operate.

It is time to say no to this ill-advised proposal.

Kevin Niebauer

Belgium