By Devyn Lyon, FOX23 News
TULSA, Okla. — As data center development draws attention across Oklahoma, residents interviewed by FOX23 said they want clear answers about electricity costs, water use and what it could mean to live near one.
For Tulsa resident Barbara Coleman, the concern is whether new development could leave households paying costs they cannot afford.
“I don’t mind them being around,” Coleman explained. “I am concerned that they might find a loophole and say ‘okay well, sorry. You’re going to have to pay for some of the electric we’re using’ and put a different fee on the bill.”
Coleman, who said she cares for her elderly grandparents, wants transparent, written commitments that residents can use to hold companies accountable.
She said people already struggling with bills need reassurance about who will pay for a project’s electricity and infrastructure.
In Yukon, Charlie Scott said a proposed data center would be about 1,500 feet from his home.
Scott said he retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2012 after 38 years as a wildlife biologist.
His career included 23 years in a Tulsa field office, as well as work in Washington D.C. and Columbia, Missouri.
He said his work included assessing federally funded or permitted development projects and identifying ways to reduce their environmental impacts.
His experience also included endangered species and environmental toxicology work.
That background informs the questions he’s asking about the development, although he described his data center research as something he pursued after the proposal near his home made the issue personal.
Scott said neighbors began seeking his help because of his environmental science background.
He has since become involved in community organizing and said residents in other Oklahoma communities have also asked him for information.
“I have a problem putting it in close location to where people live because of just the traffic, the work, the construction, the noise, the light,” Scott said.
Those concerns are addressing the potential impacts of a proposed facility, rather than conditions he reported experiencing from an operating data center next to his home.
Scott said his concern is not simply whether data centers should exist.
According to Scott, he wants attention paid to where they are built, the technology they use and the information residents receive before decisions are made.
He acknowledged that projects can bring substantial revenue to communities, but said secrecy and late communication can undermine public trust.
He expressed concern about nondisclosure agreements and residents learning about projects after discussions between developers and local officials are already underway.
Scott said he has seen increased attendance at local government meetings as residents seek answers about the development.
He said he is helping collect signatures for a proposed change to Yukon’s city charter that would require residents to vote on data center proposals.
He said the effort is intended to give residents a greater role in decisions.
“We’re just saying the citizens should have a right to vote on something that’s so significant,” Scott explained.
The petition seeks a change to the charter, but such a requirement is not established by the petition effort itself.
Coleman said she also wants officials to examine the benefits and drawbacks of individual projects before making decisions about their location.
“Do the research on it,” said Coleman. “See what the pros and cons are.”
FOX23 spoke with Henry Cubillan of Kelvion, a manufacturer of data center cooling equipment at the Port of Catoosa.
The company supplies the data center industry, giving it a specific business interest in its growth.
Cubillan said Kelvion also provides thermal solutions for other industries including oil and gas, and power and transportation.
Cubillan explained that cooling designs vary depending on a facility’s location, outdoor temperatures, size, computing demand and available space.
“There’s a lot of factors that go in it: location, average ambient temperatures,” Cubillan shared. “The space available is also a factor that we consider.”
He said the equipment used in a smaller, conventional data center can differ from the systems required for a larger facility designed for high-density artificial intelligence computing.
Cubillan described a closed-loop system in which liquid absorbs heat, carries it outside to be cooled and then returns through the system.
He said the system requires an initial fill of treated water, typically mixed with glycol to prevent freezing.
The liquid is designed to remain in circulation for years, although maintenance or leaks may require replacement.
“They’re designed to go in there for a very long time—years.”
Cubillan said one misconception he encounters is the assumption that all data centers use the same amount of water or rely on the same cooling methods.
He contrasted water-consuming evaporative cooling towers with systems that recirculate liquid.
He said Kelvion has adapted cooling equipment used in oil and gas and power applications for data centers.
In the closed-loop design he described, the initial fill can be significant, depending on the facility’s size.
The recirculating liquid is intended to remain inside the system rather than being continuously consumed.
However, he said buildings do still need water for uses such as restrooms and landscaping.
Cubillan compared modern facilities’ water consumption with golf courses, saying a modern data center uses less.
He did not provide site-specific figures for that comparison during the interview.
Recirculating liquid in one part of a cooling system does not, by itself, establish the total water demand of an entire facility.
The full design matters.
For example, Microsoft’s public explanation of its systems describes both evaporative cooling, which consumes water, and closed-loop designs that reuse liquid.
Residents should request the water demand and full cooling design of the particular project proposed near them to learn the specifics of its planned cooling design.
Coleman’s concern about bills is a question about future costs, rather than evidence that a data center has added a fee to her bill.
The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) said data center consumers are responsible for infrastructure and service costs associated with their projects.
Its public materials also describe a proposed large-load tariff and oversight by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
PSO said residential rates may still change because of fuel costs, broader energy markets and upgrades that benefit the overall system.
Cubillan said available power varies by location and described decisions about individual developments as case-specific.
He urged residents to learn about a project’s power supply, water demand, noise and proximity to homes, and to make sure developers follow state and local regulations.
“I think what people need to be is well-informed,” Cubillan stated.
Based on the questions raised in the interviews, residents considering a nearby proposal can ask:
What are the facility’s expected daily and peak water needs?
What cooling methods will the entire facility use, and how will coolant be maintained or disposed of?
How will it be powered, and who pays for the infrastructure needed to serve it?
What noise, lighting and construction impacts are expected at neighboring properties?
What commitments will be public, and how will they be enforced?
When can residents comment before decisions are made?
In an informal Facebook poll conducted by FOX23’s Devyn Lyon, about 90% of respondents expressed opposition to data centers.
The voluntary poll is not a scientific or representative measure of public opinion in Oklahoma.
Scott and Coleman said residents should seek information and stay involved as projects are considered.
“Progress is going to happen, but we need to do it right,” Coleman said.
To read more of PSO’s information on data centers, click here.
