Now a community survey conducted by an area resident has landed like a hand grenade in the middle of the fray — and may shed light on that question. The survey suggests broad opposition to the data center with 75.8% of respondents opposing it and 19.2% supporting it.
“Do residents of Pine Island city and nearby townships support the proposal to build a hyperscale data center in Pine Island. The majority answer is: No,” concludes the summary of the 73-page “Pine Island Sentiment Survey” authored by Susanne Blazek.
Blazek has a doctorate in social psychology with a minor in statistics from the University of Minnesota. More to the point, she has spent the last 15 years of her career conducting sentiment polls and large-scale public research, she says. Blazek makes no bones that she opposes the data center.
More on the survey…
One reason Blazek thinks the survey’s conclusions are valid is that the findings are in line with national polls, which show a strong backlash toward data centers. Surveys from organizations like Gallup, NBC News, and YouGov show roughly 65% to 70% of Americans opposing constructing a data center in their local area.
Blazek said the survey’s findings are based on 656 verified responses from people in the Pine Island city and surrounding areas. The survey reached 4,000 people through flyers and online messages for a 16% response rate, “which is considered OK.”