Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Bigger data centers are coming to Washington — and they're bringing real tradeoffs.

More strain on the electrical grid. More pressure on water systems already stretched by drought. But also badly needed tax revenue and jobs.

We headed to Central Washington, where Chelan County PUD is gearing up for the county's first data center — a Microsoft campus near the Columbia River that could eventually draw up to 288 megawatts at full operation.

We heard from a local union councilmember who sees data centers as an economic bright spot, and from a couple 10 miles south of Quincy fighting to keep a new 230-kilowatt transmission line off their front lawn.

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