By Devyn Lyon, FOX23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — Dozens of people gathered Sunday at Tulsa’s Historic Big 10 Ballroom for a public forum examining the growing impact of AI data centers.
The panel featured state lawmakers, policy experts, and community advocates who discussed everything from power demand and water use to local government transparency as billion-dollar projects continue coming to Oklahoma.
Some speakers said communities need a stronger voice before those projects move forward.
“City councils are taking advantage of a lack of involvement from citizens and so that’s been one of my key focuses is working with legislators, trying to increase local municipal transparency and accountability,” said Kyle Schmidt, President of the Project Sand Springs Alliance.
“You have people who are volunteer city councilors and volunteer city mayors getting a small stipend, and they’re being asked to go up against Google and they may share a city attorney with five other towns and they’re just not equipped on the legal side in my opinion,” said State Representative Amanda Clinton (D-Tulsa).
The discussion comes as Meta’s Project Anthem data center continues to take shape in east Tulsa and after federal officials, state leaders, and several Oklahoma utility providers have pledged to protect ratepayers from absorbing the cost of serving new data centers.
FOX23’s Devyn Lyon asked viewers on social media how they feel about data centers after those promises. With nearly 400 votes, more than 70 percent said they still oppose them because of their potential impact.
Some viewers even said they believe Oklahoma should ban new data centers altogether.
