Data Centers and Mississippi's Future

Why Data Centers Matter to Our Communities

Data centers are an important part of our modern economy. They power the digital tools and services people rely on every day, from cloud computing and online learning to streaming, business operations, and artificial intelligence.

This page shares answers to some of the most common questions about how data centers affect electricity use, water resources, local communities, and economic opportunity in Mississippi.

Smart energy infrastructure can strengthen Mississippi’s economy, support communities, and expand opportunity.

Stabilize

Data centers can help stabilize the electric system by providing large, long-term demand that supports infrastructure investment and grid reliability.

Support

With responsible planning and modern cooling technologies, data centers can operate efficiently and use water resources prudently.

Benefit

Data centers bring new investment, create jobs, and generate local tax revenue that helps fund schools, roads, and essential public services.

Prepare

Meeting the growing demand for digital services positions Mississippi to compete for new investment and high-quality jobs in a digital economy.

Common Questions About Data Centers

It’s true that data centers require very large amounts of electricity at all times to operate. For Mississippi, this is a good thing, and here’s why.

Prior to data center development going back to around the year 2000, total electricity use had not increased much at all locally because of efficiency gains and declining populations in some areas. This means that the cost of electricity per kilowatt hour would go up more for each household when inflation spiked and when new equipment in the electric system, like old power plants, transformers, poles and wires, must be purchased and installed to replace old equipment.

The best way to keep costs more stable for households is for new customers to join the system to share in the replacement costs. Like any customers, data centers pay electric companies for the infrastructure they need to supply their operations, and then they become another customer just like us to share in paying the costs to operate and maintain the entire local system.

But because data centers are abnormally large customers, local data centers will help keep household bills more stable by paying for a large chunk of the cost for the electric company to run the system.

In short, data center development in Mississippi will result in electric bills being lower in the future than they would have been without the large industrial developments.

No. Data centers built today commonly use air-cooled systems or closed-loop water systems for cooling.

Because data centers are basically a series of computer servers, cooling is required to maintain a certain temperature for the servers.

This can be done through air cooling, which is powered by electricity, or by water cooling. Today’s systems commonly use closed-loop water systems to minimize waste and water impacts in communities.

For perspective, in Mississippi, the agriculture industry, golf courses and public water systems use far more water than data centers will use.

In addition to data centers benefitting entire local electric systems, there are other obvious community benefits for those communities with local data center development.

The biggest benefit for a community and its residents is the local tax revenue from a data center. Because the value of data centers is so high due to the computer equipment, local tax revenue for counties and cities is very high.

For example, in Madison County where Amazon Web Services (AWS) is building two data center campuses, AWS will be the largest taxpayer in Madison County by far.

This puts more money into schools, road construction, law enforcement and other local services.

This allows communities like those in Madison County to get the benefits of new investments, better roads, better schools and so on without having to worry about tax increases.

Typically, communities without large industrial developments like data centers see decline in quality of services and the threat of local tax increases.

The U.S. consumer, you, is demanding it.

Think about how much you use data centers daily and may never think about.

Every email in your inbox, photos on your phone, driving directions, streaming movies and TV shows, your favorite apps, social media, your financial records, health records, ChatGPT or Grok use, and on and on.

Every day, we all demand more and more data storage.

The tech industry is racing to provide the U.S. consumer with what we want, and demand is growing faster than ever.

A Message About Opportunity

Data centers represent a meaningful opportunity for Mississippi. They bring together reliable energy, a skilled workforce, and a business-friendly environment to create jobs, expand the tax base, and strengthen communities across our state.

The Mississippi Energy Institute works to foster informed discussion about energy and economic development, including the role of data centers in Mississippi’s future. By advancing smart policy, responsible resource use, and continued investment in our energy infrastructure, Mississippi can attract new opportunities and build a more prosperous tomorrow.

A stronger Mississippi starts with smart energy, responsible growth, and long-term investment.

Data center campus at dusk with power lines