Responding to Big Tech & the Power of Governments in Missouri
Earlier this week, the Missouri Public Service Commission gathered in Topeka to pass a tariff proposed by local energy supplier Evergy, which would increase the energy payments of “large load users” (Kansas Reflector). This new tariff is part of the state's effort to establish new rules for large data center projects within the state, which are poised to consume significant amounts of local power (Reflector). On the same day as the energy tariff, Kansas City developers passed a $10 billion funding initiative for a data center mysteriously codenamed “Project Mica,” which reportedly has ties to Google and could be an expansion of their data center project unveiled last year (Kansas City Star). As these data center projects continue to expand, state and federal initiatives will be crucial in regulating the expansion of large tech companies. Especially in places like Kansas City, where these data centers are often located in lower-income neighborhoods, such as those in Clay County, which bear the brunt of rising utility costs and face the risk of losing access to power and water (Income Distribution in Kansas City). In the parts of Clay County surrounding the proposed development, over half of the residents earn below the United States’ median income, meaning the economic burden will be carried by neighborhoods that are not prepared to handle it.
In Slow Violence, Rob Nixon examines several examples of how climate disasters disproportionately affect poor and marginalized communities. Without proper regulation, the residents of Clay County could become another example of a micro-minority, as the community would not only exist under the present class disparity compared to other Kansas City neighborhoods, but also be uniquely affected by the increased energy and resource extraction inherent in the current datacenter infrastructure. These data center communities can exacerbate existing class divides, causing further economic harm to communities that already teeter on the margins. Without regulation, we risk harming our country’s most vulnerable populations, both in the present through drastic changes in resource availability and in the future through ongoing climate disruption. Most worryingly, this divide appears to be growing more imminent as companies like Google continue to push further into building larger, more expensive developments. Missouri’s recent tariff is not the end, however, as these tariffs do not stop the extraction of resources; they only slow it down. As these centers expand to larger plots and smaller towns, the state and federal governments need to adopt more long-term solutions to protect their residents, such as limiting the amount of utilities these centers can consume and requiring smaller developers to limit the acreage they can occupy. Along with local restrictions, larger initiatives must be planned to transition these centers to renewable resources, relying less on existing oil and natural gas from utility companies and finding alternatives to fresh water for cooling the massive machines. In the digital age, data centers are a necessary force, but not something we must just accept on their terms. Missouri shows that it is within the public's power to change the practices of big tech companies, and our responsibility to fight against unethical extraction for those who will suffer the most from them.
Works Cited
Chilson, Morgan. “Missouri Passes New Rules, Costs for Data Centers and Large Power Users • Kansas Reflector.” Kansas Reflector, 14 Nov. 2025, kansasreflector.com/2025/11/14/missouri-passes-new-rules-costs-for-data-centers-and-large-power-users/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Higgins, Chris. “Port KC Set to OK $10 Billion Bonds, Tax Breaks for Google Center in Clay County.” Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2025, www.kansascity.com/news/local/article304187266.html. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Shorman, Jonathan, and Robert A Cronkleton. “Google Is Building $1B Data Center in KC Area. Here’s Where, How Many Jobs It Could Bring.” Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2024, www.kansascity.com/news/local/article286909195.html. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
“Income Distribution in Kansas City.” Arcgis.com, 2025, gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/media/index.html?appid=6ba5f686e3c64c1485cb56ff0249a03d. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. First Harvard University Press paperback edition, Harvard University Press, 2013. K10plus ISBN.