HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-03 Noelle Lindenmann Support Testimony
From: Noelle Lindenmann
To: Planning WPC Testimony
Cc: Villegas, Rebecca
Subject: Testimony on Bill 170
Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026 6:37:47 AM
Aloha Planning Commission (and my County Council Member, Rebecca on cc)
My name is Noelle Lindenmann, and I live in Kailua-Kona. I am submitting testimony
in strong support of Bill 170 and urging the Windward Planning Commission to
recommend a stronger definition of "hyperscale data center" before sending it back to
the County Council.
The original bill defines a data center using subjective language that a developer's
attorney can argue around in court. I am asking the commission to recommend a
definition that is objective and airtight, grounded in what the facility physically
contains and how much power it draws.
Specifically I am asking the commission to recommend this language:
"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 20 megawatt threshold creates a bright line that cannot be disputed. The campus
language ensures a developer cannot game that threshold by building multiple
smaller facilities side by side on adjacent parcels under common ownership. Together
these two elements make the prohibition meaningful and durable.
As we recently saw, our power grid and our water system are very vulnerable to
damage, adding another draw on the power grid is not prudent and careless. We need
to take care of our own community, not offer up power and water for data center use.
Our community cannot afford to get this wrong. Please recommend the strongest
possible version of this bill.
Mahalo for your service and time,
Noelle Lindenmann (she/her/hers)
Kailua-Kona
e. noelle.royer@gmail.com