HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-08-31 Anna Brittingham Support Testimony
From: Anna
To: Planning WPC Testimony
Date: Monday, August 31, 2026 4:13:18 PM
Aloha planning commission,
My name is Anna Brittingham and I live in Hilo. I am writing in strong support of Bill 170 and asking the Windward Planning Commission to recommend one additional strengthening
change before sending it back to the County Council. The original Bill 170 language uses subjective phrases like "industrial-scale operation" and
"beyond that typically accessory or incidental to office, commercial, or public institutional uses" that a well-resourced developer's attorney can argue around. The definition below
replaces that subjectivity with objective physical criteria and a clear 20 megawatt threshold that cannot be disputed.
The specific language I am asking the commission to recommend:
“Hyperscale data center means any facility or campus of facilities whose primary purpose is the housing, operation, or co-location of computer servers, networking equipment, and
associated cooling, power, and support infrastructure, including but not limited to servers, network equipment and appliances, telecommunications equipment, data storage systems,
systems for monitoring and managing infrastructure performance, environmental controls, fire protection systems, security systems, electrical substations, generators, and redundant power
supplies; and which requires or is designed to require 20 megawatts or more of electrical capacity at full build-out. This definition includes a single facility and any campus of multiple
facilities on contiguous or adjacent parcels under common ownership or control whose combined electrical demand meets or exceeds 20 megawatts. This term includes facilities
commonly described as large-scale, hyperscale, neocloud, and artificial intelligence data centers and colocation campuses. This term does not include telecommunications facilities
regulated under Section 25-4-12, hospital or government data systems, university educational and research facilities, or business offices in which servers are incidental to the primary use."
The infrastructure of our island is already strained especially after the natural disasters we
have experienced recently. It is such a critical time to put preventive measures in place to protect our finite resources. I’ve watched these mega data centers have devastating impacts on
other communities and we cannot let that happen here.
Mahalo nui, Anna Brittingham, Hilo HI