The mission of the Maryland Data Centers Analysis Group, as described by organizer Faith Klareich, is to “elevate verifiable data” about the critical digital infrastructure industry and its potential implications for the state.
Klareich, who also served on Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater’s Data Centers Work Group, said the new group plans to compile resources for use by policymakers, advocates and researchers with an interest in data centers.
Klareich said that, in her experience, there is an abundance of information about data center policy at the national and state levels. But localities also need good data to help inform decision making around data centers, she said.
Three Frederick County organizations — the Sugarloaf Alliance, the Fellowship of Scientists and Engineers, and Envision Frederick County — are among the founders of the Maryland Data Centers Analysis Group.
The founders also include the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, which promotes the preservation of that county’s Agricultural Reserve; Sustainable Hyattsville, which is based in Prince George’s County; and the Tri-County Coalition, which represents the three counties along the route of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project — a planned high-voltage power transmission line.
Steve Black, president of the Sugarloaf Alliance, said having representation from different parts of the state is important because all jurisdictions where data centers are being developed will be faced with similar technical questions and policy dilemmas.
“The underlying motivation is a lack of understanding — a lack of access to factual information about data centers and their development and their operation,” Black said. “What are policy options? How was it done elsewhere? There’s no reason for every county to re-invent the wheel,” Black said.
The six founders announced the formation of the Maryland Data Centers Analysis Group shortly after the Maryland Tech Council launched the Data Center Alliance of Maryland.
The stated goals of the DCA-MD include advancing a “dynamic data center industry” by changing policy and educating Marylanders about the “economic and fiscal contributions of data center development.”
The founders of the Maryland Data Centers Analysis Group say their group was not formed as a direct response to the Maryland Tech Council’s group. However, Envision Frederick County Chair Elizabeth Bauer said “the timing was perfect.”
“The creation of the Data Center Alliance put a real focus on all the things that that group is not talking about,” Black said. “They will, I’m sure, address employment and tax revenue implications of data centers ... but they’re not going to talk about the rest of the impacts.”
Bauer said one of the most “disconcerting” things about the planning process for centers in Frederick County is “the fact that there has been no unbiased cost-benefit analysis done.”
“We’re not advocating one way or the other,” Bauer said of the Analysis Group. “We just want to inform with facts.”
Maryland state Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-District 3) sponsored a bill during the 2025 legislative session that would have created a study about the economic, energy and environmental consequences of data center development in the state.
That bill was vetoed by Gov. Wes Moore, who cited financial strain on Maryland and uncertainty about receiving funding from the federal government as his reasons for doing so. The study would have cost $502,000, according to the bill’s fiscal note.
A recent study commissioned by the Maryland Tech Council found that the development of a typical data center could generate more than 5,000 direct and secondary jobs and approximately $18 million in state tax revenue.
The Maryland Data Center Analysis Group had its first meeting on Thursday, organizers said. People interested in learning more are encouraged to contact the group by emailing MDAnalysisGroup@gmail.com.
© 2025 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
