By Kemol King
The debate over data centres is no longer something happening only in the United States.
Here in Guyana, proposed data centre developments have already prompted questions about whether our electricity system can support them, how much power they will consume and what their environmental impact could be. When plans for a commercial data centre in Region Three were reported in August, social media reaction focused heavily on whether an electricity system already known for reliability problems could accommodate another large consumer and whether Guyana should accommodate infrastructure that is facing opposition in the United States.
Commentary in the local press has warned about the energy, water and environmental demands of data centres and questioned whether Guyana should be rushing to accommodate them. In the U.S., this infrastructure has become a key election issue for American politicians seeking office.
But we should be careful not to simply transplant the opposition to data centres that we are seeing in parts of the United States and assume that the same conclusions must apply here.
That is not to say that Americans are right or wrong to oppose them. Their circumstances are theirs. Guyanese have to think for ourselves, especially when we are talking about infrastructure that supports technologies we are already using and benefiting from.
Artificial intelligence is no longer some distant thing that may or may not affect our lives in the future. It is already changing how society functions. We cannot enthusiastically use AI products, benefit from them and encourage their use in schools and businesses while automatically condemning the infrastructure that helps make those products work.
This does not mean every data centre proposal should be welcomed without question. It does not mean we should ignore the amount of electricity they consume or their potential environmental and social impacts.
I am cautiously optimistic about artificial intelligence. I think it can do extraordinary things, but I also think it can be used in very harmful ways. AI is already helping doctors identify patients at risk of dying and detect cancers earlier. It is also being used in warfare, including by Israel in Gaza, where AI-assisted targeting systems have been linked to decisions about who and what should be bombed. Much depends on what human beings choose to do with it.
The answer, however, cannot be to neglect it and allow other countries to determine its future while we sit around.
Guyana should be part of the global conversation about AI. We should be thinking about how we can host some of the infrastructure that supports it, and how Guyanese innovators can use it responsibly to build new products and services.
Electricity is, however, a legitimate concern. In addition to a 100 MW being contemplated for Wales, a 2 GW centre has been floated for Berbice, where Exxon is expected to install a pipeline to transport massive volumes of natural gas for a new industrial estate in the county. These projects are essentially only now being talked about, and await gas-fired power to make them viable. But we’re talking power generation at a scale multiple times what is currently being generated in the whole of Guyana, which is significant.
This country has struggled for decades with an unstable power supply, and people are entitled to ask why large electricity-consuming facilities should be accommodated when households and businesses still contend with blackouts.
At the same time, Guyana is implementing projects that will substantially expand generation, including gas-fired power. Guyana Power and Light’s own development planning anticipates major new demand from data centres and other large industrial users.
If the country can increase generation reliably without compromising supply to ordinary consumers, electricity demand alone should not become a permanent argument against data centres. The plan is to make power stable and reliable, then bring the data centres to these shores.
Regarding environmental concerns, Guyana already has a legal framework under the Environmental Protection Act for assessing projects that may have significant environmental and social effects. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Proposed data centres should be studied carefully for their expected environmental and social impacts, including effects on biodiversity and possible impacts on nearby communities. People who may be affected should have meaningful information about what is being proposed and an opportunity to participate in the process, under the law.
Guyana is in a position to learn from mistakes made elsewhere, particularly in the United States, where data centres have generated conflict over their proximity to communities and the question of pressure on water and electricity supply.
That makes the role of the EPA even more important. There is already skepticism about the independence of the regulator, which could become a source of distrust when major projects supported by the government are proposed.
If suitable lands are properly identified and zoned, and communities are protected, then infrastructure that promotes innovation should be welcomed. Let’s not uncritically reject infrastructure that has the potential to herald a better future because opposition is growing elsewhere.
