WVXU News: What we do and don't know about the environmental impact of data centers

August 21, 2026

 

The rapid pace of large new data center projects proposed or breaking ground in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana has sparked anxiety among some people about how they will affect the natural world.

Ted Smith is an environmental health researcher at the University of Louisville. He says much of a data center’s environmental impact depends on where it is sited, the kind of cooling system it uses, where it gets its power from, and a number of other complex factors.

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