In St. Charles this month, crowds of people opposing a proposed large data center showed up to public meetings to voice their concerns.

They decried the secretive nature of the project, whose owner still hasn’t been revealed, and its potential impact on water quality.

The residents were also worried that their energy bills might go up because of the data center’s potentially huge demand for electricity. The developer pulled the proposal for now but says it will be back.

In the meantime, Missouri’s biggest utilities, including Ameren, are working to write new rules to govern how large data centers operate in the state. Advocates hope the new policies could also protect regular utility customers, like the ones who showed up in St. Charles.

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Two of Missouri’s largest util

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