Residents of Dowagiac, Michigan, just filed a lawsuit against a data center that allegedly generates a high-pitched whining sound — and has done so 24/7 for the past two years.
The data center, which is owned by Alliance Cloud Services LLC, a subsidiary of Hyperscale Data, used to be an industrial building that sat behind a row of pine trees across the street from the most affected residents, according to ABC-affiliateWXYZ. The site started development in 2018 and was eventually turned into a cryptocurrency mining center in 2021. But in 2024, something changed drastically when the building started emitting noise pollution around the clock. Residents say it sounds like a vacuum cleaner in their living room, and the company has offered to buy up homes from unhappy residents.
“It sounds like someone set up a vacuum, like in your living room. And the vacuum is just... that thing needs to be cleaned ... the filter is clogged up, so it’s a high-pitch whining. And they just left it on and walked out," said Lindy Valenzuela, one of the residents living across from the data center. Billy Finn, who also lived nearby, added, “You’ve seen movies and stuff where they have somebody in a cell torturing them with sound. And that’s basically what it is."
Dowagiac has recently instituted an industrial noise ordinance, with a daytime limit of 65dB during the day and 55dB at night, and it has fined the data center for violations. However, Hyperscale Data is challenging the city’s readings and methodology. The company said that it’s planning to expand its operations in the footprint in the area, but the city said that it hasn’t received any permit applications.
It’s a high-pitch whining. And they just left it on and walked out
Area resident Lindy Valenzuela
Hyperscale Data CEO William Horne told the residents directly in a special council meeting that the site is pivoting away from cryptocurrency operations towards AI computing and advanced robotics, and that it’s spending $100 million to achieve this. It has also bought acres of adjacent properties for use as a natural buffer to reduce the noise that affects residents in the future, alongside other efforts that will reduce sound levels. "If they still aren't happy, and feel that their home isn't enjoyable, then we'll buy their property from them,” Horne said.
Still, this statement did not sit well with the affected residents. One of them said that their family has been living in the area for close to a hundred years, with their friends and support system, while another has a 17-month-old baby and another on the way, meaning moving for them is going to be difficult, if not impossible. Because of this, the residents asked the CEO why they didn’t act on the complaints as soon as they started and accused the company of not being a good neighbor.
This isn’t the first noise pollution lawsuit that a data center is facing in the country. A Microsoft data center is facing a similar class-action lawsuit in Wisconsin from residents who live within 1.5 miles of the facility. One non-profit organization also said that inaudible vibrations, called infrasound, that these industrial sites emit can be heard and felt for hundreds of feet in surrounding areas and could potentially have negative health effects on anyone who can feel it.
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