As the city of Independence prepares to vote on significant tax breaks for a proposed multibillion-dollar data center for artificial intelligence, residents’ questions and concerns have increasingly centered on how the 400-acre project will impact the environment around their homes — and their health.
Nebius, a Dutch company specializing in AI services, hopes to make Independence the home of its flagship AI data center in the United States. The data center will cost about $6.6 billion to construct and could contain another $144 billion in specialized equipment, for a total investment of around $150 billion. The Independence City Council is considering $6.2 billion in property tax breaks for the company over the course of 20 years.
At a February 26 community meeting, Assistant City Manager Charlie Dissell said that the data center has generated an unprecedented amount of engagement from both residents and local officials…