In June, a fire broke out in a building under construction at the "Lake Mariner Data Campus," an AI data center located in Somerset, New York. According to local fire authorities, it was reported that there were no functioning alarms or firefighting systems on-site, and the fire hydrants were also non-operational.
Data CentersTeraWulfFluidstack
Challenges in Responsibility and Transparency Surrounding AI Data Center Construction: Lessons from New York
This article is a translation. Read the Japanese original
This facility is a project owned by TeraWulf and intended to be operated by the UK-based Fluidstack. Google holds warrants for potential future equity acquisition, and Anthropic is included as a recipient of the computing supply. However, investigations following the fire pointed to a critical issue: the safety data sheets regarding chemical substances were destroyed in the blaze, forcing firefighters to conduct operations without essential information.
Furthermore, the increasing power demand of data centers and how those costs are borne have become significant challenges. While the facility is expected to consume up to 500 megawatts of power, local officials have pointed out that the scale of job creation is significantly lower than originally promised during the planning phase. Regarding energy sources, transparency issues have emerged concerning how to verify the consistency between corporate claims and the actual grid supply regarding the proportion of renewable energy used.
Sources
- The complex corporate web behind a $3.2 billion AI data center （Ars Technica AI, 2026-09-07）