{"id":894110,"date":"2026-10-25T12:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/894110\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T12:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:28:14","slug":"new-englands-old-buildings-and-old-data-centers-could-be-upgraded-to-handle-ai-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/894110\/","title":{"rendered":"New England’s old buildings and old data centers could be upgraded to handle AI computing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right off the highway in Trumbull, Conn. is a set of large, red brick buildings. They\u2019re a little bigger than a Walmart Supercenter, sitting on eight acres of land. This is the town\u2019s data center.\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been around since the 1960s, and right now it\u2019s in the middle of a major upgrade, one that will take it from regular computing to AI computing. Local residents, like Richard White, have some concerns.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be a very large AI data center from a square footage point of view,\u201d said White, who co-leads a group of concerned residents, known as the Trumbull AI Data Center Watch group.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s currently small. We\u2019re okay with it remaining small, maybe, with the right regulatory environment. We don\u2019t want it to be bigger and we don\u2019t want more,\u201d White said.\n<\/p>\n

\"Trumbull<\/p>\n

Trumbull resident Richard White across the street from a data center in Trumbull, Conn. on Oct. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

\n Raquel C. Zald\u00edvar \/ New England News Collaborative<\/p>\n

New England News Collaborative\n <\/p>\n

New England has dozens of small data centers like this, some of them decades old. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence, these facilities could get upgraded to handle AI computing. The changes can be hard to see from the outside and \u2013 for people who oppose them \u2013 even harder to stop.\n<\/p>\n

Last month, Trumbull passed a 2-year moratorium on new data centers, but that won\u2019t stop its existing data center from being converted for AI.\n<\/p>\n

The process is known as retrofitting. Instead of building a new data center from scratch, old buildings and data centers get renovated so they can handle the power and cooling needs of the computer chips that make AI work.\n<\/p>\n

\"Trumbull<\/p>\n

Trumbull town council representative for District 3, Jason Marsh (D), speaks during a town hall meeting on Sept. 9, 2026, in Trumbull, Conn. A moratorium on new data centers was passed during that meeting.<\/p>\n

\n Ayannah Brown \/ Connecticut Public<\/p>\n

Connecticut Public\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThe original data centers that we\u2019ve had for years in our country use CPUs. These are the core computing chips that are in all of our laptops,\u201d said Kenneth Gillingham, professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale School of the Environment.\n<\/p>\n

AI computing relies on a different kind of chip, known as a GPU, that can process a lot more data. They use two to three times more energy and get hotter than the older chips.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what they will do is they\u2019ll pull out the old CPUs and they\u2019ll put in a whole bunch of the GPUs, and really fully swap what\u2019s actually in the data centers themselves,\u201d Gillingham said.\n<\/p>\n

Some AI in all data centers\n<\/p>\n

Some AI experts say finding ways to make older data centers capable of running at least some AI is the way of the future.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe strongly that we are going to see a very hybrid approach to data center design,\u201d said Bill Kleyman, co-founder and CEO of Apolo.us, an AI company.\n<\/p>\n

He says the types of things that small data centers do, like handling our emails or storing our photos, won\u2019t go away, but those data centers could start doing more.\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The data center in Trumbull, Conn.<\/p>\n

\n Raquel C. Zald\u00edvar \/ New England News Collaborative<\/p>\n

New England News Collaborative\n <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that in the very near future, we\u2019re going to have enough pressure from clients that a facility \u2013 let\u2019s say it\u2019s a 40 megawatt facility \u2013 is going to have to figure out a way to put AI infrastructure into their environment and either that or risk losing the customer,\u201d he said. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

If older data centers want to work with higher education, research institutions or financial organizations, they\u2019re going to need to put in at least some AI equipment, Kleyman said.\n<\/p>\n

Room for expansion\n<\/p>\n

In Trumbull, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro said<\/a> the AI upgrade won\u2019t increase the existing data center\u2019s size, water usage, electrical needs or generate more noise. But the property has a lot of room for expansion and locals are nervous about what happens if the data center grows in the future.\n<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

First Selectman Vicki Tesoro took to the podium during the Trumbull Town Hall meeting on Sept. 9, 2026, to answer the town council’s questions regarding 365 Data Centers and Aphorio Carter.<\/p>\n

\n Ayannah Brown \/ Connecticut Public<\/p>\n

Connecticut Public\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a ton of potential on this property,\u201d White said. \u201cWith the high-density AI racks that they talk about placing in this facility, they would run out of money and they would run out of power way before they run out of square footage.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Trumbull residents asked the town\u2019s planning and zoning commission to consider a 1-year-moratorium that would, in part, prevent current data centers from increasing in capacity or intensity. But the commission rejected the measure, stating the language in the moratorium was vague, making it difficult to enforce.\n<\/p>\n

Connecticut Public requested a copy of 365 Data Centers<\/a>‘ letter of intent for the Trumbull site to learn more about the AI upgrades. A representative from the company denied the request, stating the document is confidential and non-binding and that there is no timeframe for future public announcements.\n<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, White and other residents went on a tour of the data center with executives from 365 Data Centers and Aphorio Carter<\/a>, the two companies leading the AI upgrade<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

Talking face-to-face with the executives gave Trumbull resident Sherry Boyd a \u201ctiny bit of piece of mind, like maybe 3%,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBut without having something official in writing where they can be held accountable for what they\u2019re doing, we\u2019re not going to let up until we have that,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

Sarah Beck, who also lives in Trumbull, is less optimistic about the likelihood of the two companies sticking to their promises in the future.\n<\/p>\n

\"Trumbull<\/p>\n

Trumbull residents Sherry Boyd, left, and Sarah Beck, right, near a data center in Trumbull, Conn. on Oct. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

\n Raquel C. Zald\u00edvar \/ New England News Collaborative<\/p>\n

New England News Collaborative\n <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my perspective, we\u2019re not dealing with people. We\u2019re dealing with a corporation,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then when they go back on their word, they\u2019ll say ‘Tough cookies. You don\u2019t have regulations in place. We never agreed to these things\u2019. Those are the assumptions that I\u2019m working under,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

With White, Boyd and Beck lead the Trumbull AI Data Center Watch group. What they and others want is a written guarantee that the Trumbull data center will stay within the limitations they\u2019ve set out and not turn into a giant AI data center.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our goals is we don\u2019t want Trumbull to become a cautionary tale to other towns in Connecticut and other towns in New England. ‘Don\u2019t let what happened in Trumbull happen to you\u2019. We\u2019re hoping to avoid that,\u201d White said. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Instead, they\u2019re hoping Trumbull will become an example of how to ensure a growing data center doesn\u2019t harm the community it\u2019s in.\n<\/p>\n

This story is part of Awaiting Data<\/a>, a special series from the New England News Collaborative<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\u00c1ine Pennello is a Report for America<\/a> corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public.
\n
Copyright 2026 Connecticut Public Radio <\/p>\n

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