Editor's note: This story was originally published by The Suncoast Searchlight.

As Florida communities wrestle with a wave of proposed data centers amid growing debate over their impacts, four journalists covering the boom will come together next month for a public discussion on one of the state’s most watched development issues.

Suncoast Searchlight and Seeking Rents are teaming up to host “Powering the Future? Data Centers on the Suncoast,” a free public forum from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Library in Venice.

The discussion will feature Jason Garcia, founder, publisher and accountability reporter for Seeking Rents; Alice Herman and Christian Casale, investigative and government reporters for Suncoast Searchlight; and Emily Mahoney, who reports on energy for the Tampa Bay Times. After the discussion, the panel will participate in an audience question-and-answer session.

Admission is free, though registration is encouraged because seating is limited.

The event comes as plans for massive data centers have spread across Florida, including proposed projects in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties.

The facilities, which power artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other digital services, have prompted local governments to weigh the promise of new tax revenue and investment against concerns over electricity demand, water consumption, environmental impacts and compatibility with surrounding communities.

Garcia has spent the past year investigating the companies and special interests behind Florida’s data center boom for Seeking Rents, an independent publication producing accountability journalism about Florida politics and the influence of business and special interests on public policy.

His reporting has examined how changes in state law, lobbying efforts and millions of dollars in political spending have helped accelerate the industry’s expansion across Florida.

“Floridians around the state — and across the ideological spectrum — are paying close attention to data center development,” Garcia said. “It’s very quickly become a top issue in elections for everything from county commission to governor of Florida. This community conversation will be a chance to really dig into the politics and policy behind the debate.”

Those statewide issues have become increasingly visible on the Suncoast.

Suncoast Searchlight, an independent nonprofit newsroom serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties, has reported extensively on a proposed data center complex in DeSoto County, where residents have packed public meetings to question the project’s potential impacts and the pace of the county’s review.

Amid growing public concern, county commissioners this week approved a one-year moratorium on new data center applications, though it will not affect the developer’s pending expansion proposal.

Similar debates have played out in Manatee County, where commissioners are considering a moratorium of their own, and in Sarasota County, where officials already have passed a one-year ban.

“I’ve been covering a hyperscale data center proposal in DeSoto County and have seen how the issue has gripped the community,” Herman said. “My reporting has relied heavily on public records access and I think government transparency — or lack thereof — will determine how and if journalists can inform the public about data centers going forward.”

Mahoney will bring a statewide perspective to the discussion. Her reporting for the Tampa Bay Times has chronicled the rapid spread of data center proposals across Florida, explaining the enormous infrastructure needed to support them and how communities from the Tampa Bay region to Southwest Florida are confronting many of the same questions about growth, energy and public policy.

“As I’ve traveled to government meetings and town halls around the state, it’s become clear that few topics are uniting Floridians like data centers,” Mahoney said. “I’ve also seen how regular people have deeply impacted this debate, and am looking forward to discussing how state regulators and politicians are choosing to respond.”

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.