Electricians union addresses misconceptions about proposed Sedgwick County data centers

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - As Sedgwick County leaders weigh decisions on proposed data centers, a local electricians union is pushing back on what it calls misconceptions about the projects. Hundreds of residents attended a town hall this week to voice concerns, with farmers among those most vocal in their opposition.

Jeimeson Saudino, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 271 in Wichita, said the conversation needs to move past emotion.

“We have to be realistic, and see a little bit past the emotional barrier,” Saudino said.

Union disputes water usage claims

One of the concerns Saudino addressed involves water consumption. He said claims that data centers use millions of gallons of water per day are outdated.

“I hear, ‘Oh it’s going to consume millions of gallons of water a day.’ They used to. No longer they do that, because they utilize closed loop systems and some of them even utilize air-cooled systems nowadays,” Saudino said.

Data centers already exist in Wichita

The debate over data centers in Sedgwick and Reno counties may suggest the facilities would be new to the area, but that is not the case. A 168,000-square-foot NetApp facility already operates on the campus of Wichita State University. Saudino said it is a fully functional data and AI center. Two other, smaller data centers also operate in Wichita.

New proposals under consideration would involve a facility of more than one million square feet — significantly larger than anything currently in the area.

Union says officials are taking the right approach

Despite the scale of what is being proposed, Saudino said elected officials are handling the issue appropriately.

“I don’t think we should jump in a lake if you don’t know what kind of water we’re jumping in, right? Concerns are legitimate and we need to take a step back and look at it, but we cannot just turn our backs away from it because you feel that this is a bad thing. We have to take a closer look at it,” Saudino said.

Examples from other states cited

The union said Sedgwick County has the ability to negotiate a data center deal that benefits both residents and the environment. It pointed to projects in Pryor, Oklahoma, and DeSoto, Kansas, where economic growth from data centers came alongside lower property taxes for residents.