As data centers proliferate, neighbors knock the noise
NewsDale Browne, president of the Great Oak Homeowners Association, speaks Aug. 29, 2022 at a rally near Manassas, Va., protesting a newly built da...
NewsDale Browne, president of the Great Oak Homeowners Association, speaks Aug. 29, 2022 at a rally near Manassas, Va., protesting a newly built data center for Amazon Web Services. (AP Photo/Matthew Barakat)MANASSAS, Va. (AP) -- Northern Virginia has established itself as the world's largest home for data centers.But residents are starting to push back against their proliferation, voicing concerns over noise and other issues.The demand only grows as cloud computing expands exponentially.The data centers have been a tax-generating boon for local governments, but their neighbors can't escape the noise of constantly whirring fans needed to keep the computers cool.