July 28, 2024 — Central Washington in recent years has seen an explosion in the number of power-hungry data centers — massive computer warehouses that back the modern internet. The need for more electricity to feed this growing industry is clashing with Washington’s plan to wean utilities off fossil fuels.

A joint investigation by The Seattle Times. and ProPublica found that state lawmakers made this reckoning all but inevitable. In 2019, the Legislature passed a measure to make Washington’s utilities carbon-neutral by 2030. At the same time, in the name of bringing jobs to rural areas, lawmakers encouraged the growth of the data center industry through a massive tax break.

Remarkably, Washington in recent years has gotten a smaller share of its electricity from renewable sources than it did two decades ago, according to the most recent state data. That’s despite the fact the state produces a quarter of the nation’s hydropower.

In 2022, Gov. Jay Inslee, one of the nation’s biggest champions of green energy, vetoed a plan — tucked into legislation that expanded the state’s data center tax break — to study how rapidly growing energy demands of data centers and the impact of the state’s tax break on its power grid.

To understand the consequences of data center growth, reporters Sydney Brownstone and Lulu Ramadan, a distinguished fellow in ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, reviewed state and local energy data, requested public records from Central Washington utilities and examined tax break legislation. ”

Read the first installment about how power-guzzling data centers clash with Washington state’s clean energy mandates here.

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About The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times serves the Northwest with independent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, as the region’s most trusted news media company, dedicated to public service. The Seattle Times is the most-visited digital information source in Washington state and the second-largest newspaper on the West Coast. Founded in 1896 by Alden J. Blethen, The Seattle Times’ stewardship is now led by the Blethen family’s fourth and fifth generations, whose stewardship also includes The Yakima Herald-Republic and The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

About the ProPublica
ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. With a team of more than 100 dedicated journalists, ProPublica covers a range of topics, focusing on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact. Its reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels. Since it began publishing in 2008, ProPublica has received seven Pulitzer Prizes, five Peabody Awards, five Emmy Awards and 15 George Polk Awards.