The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino.
A.I. IS A-OK
For a long time, many of us have held out hope that the City of Niagara Falls, NY could once again become a “City of the Future.” Niagara Falls provides power to roughly half of the East Coast, including New York City. Genius inventor and “Father of Electricity” Nikola Tesla gave the world alternating current; born from the hydropower generated by the mighty Niagara River. Once dubbed the “Power City”, Niagara Falls is positioned to become a global leader in a new era of technology… if elected officials would just get out of the way.
It is only natural for some of us to believe in a potential future where collaborators of next generation technologies could congregate in our community, transforming Niagara Falls into an epicenter of digital excellence. Perhaps the best known rapidly advancing technology is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), which will soon change life as we know it forever. Data centers are being built to capitalize on the technological demands for A.I., which requires a massive amount of electricity and water.
We already use A.I. regularly in our smart devices and apps, but advancements in A.I. are nearing the blade on the “hockey stick” trajectory towards specific benchmarks. OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet (Google) are just a few leading names in this digital gold rush. In many ways, the future of civilization hinges upon whichever world power manages to master the power of A.I. The United States is currently leading this race, but China is not far behind.
President Donald Trump is acutely aware that China is hot on America’s heels in the development of A.I. technology. With Trump in office, Niagara Falls has a real opportunity to become a hub for international trade and logistics. Multiple data centers and digital campuses are beginning to populate locally and it looks like there will be more to follow.
Despite Mayor Restaino’s crusade against their operation, NFR and their partner Urbacon are reportedly forging ahead with their plans for a digital campus on John B. Daly boulevard, on land that NFR controls. Blockfusion Ventures, the owners of a crypto-mining facility on Frontier Avenue, recently partnered with NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc. to “evaluate the compatibility between its micro reactors’ electric output and the AI data center’s energy requirements.”
For Niagara Falls to become a global leader in next generation technology, our community must come together to support a shared vision (if it is to be successful): Our city is in a prime position to become an electrified network for cryptocurrency, cannabis, A.I. and other cutting-edge technology-based industries.
ANALYZING THE LOCAL MARKET FOR DATA CENTERS
Recently, President/Co-Owner of 9 Lives Digital Group (9LDG) Michael Bagley contacted this reporter by email to provide answers to questions our readers had regarding the new North End operation. Mr. Bagley is a big believer in Niagara Falls becoming a model city; or a “City of the Future.”
Bagley states, “9 Lives Digital Group has been in the neighborhood for three years already. During these past three years, we have been meeting with local business leaders and building really wonderful and successful collaboration partnerships together. In fact, several of these local business leaders have become formal business partners with us to help transform Niagara Falls into a ‘City of the Future’ by establishing the first ‘digital campus’ at our flagship location known as the 9 Lives Digital Group campus.”
Last month, President Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum, making it clear that he is aware of the A.I. gold rush and the magnitude of power required for data centers. One week prior, President Trump also announced the creation of a new project called “Stargate”, which will invest up to $500 billion in A.I. infrastructure with the goal of creating over 100,000 jobs.
“Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028,” Bagley told the Reporter; “Tech firms and data center companies have been on the hunt for areas that produce clean energy. NYPA is the second largest hydroelectric plant in the United States, allowing the city to meet energy demands and in a clean manner.”
Citing projections from the Niagara Digital Campus, Bagley said that he believes that “a data center in Niagara Falls can create more than 550 high-paying permanent jobs, with expected annual wages of nearly $29 million. That’s a total economic benefit from the new facility which is expected to exceed $250 million annually, with more than 1,700 permanent jobs created in support and ancillary businesses.”
He also pointed out that the Niagara Falls City Council approved zoning amendments to establish High Energy Usage Overlay Districts in 2022; and the old Globe Metallurgical facility is already properly zoned and equipped for the new data center.
Says Bagley, “Our strategy encompasses three key pillars: The first is ‘Digital Infrastructure Development,’ the second is ‘Smart Cities’ Innovation, and the third is ‘Economic Transformation Ecosystem.’ Regarding point number one, we are following President Trump’s Executive Order, which the President signed last week titled ‘Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.‘”
Bagley continues, “To this point, we are not building a bitcoin mining business…. We are developing a digital asset data center business in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order, as I just noted.”
“Regarding point number two,” he says, “we are developing this project around a ‘Smart Cities’ model that has been modeled by many cities across the US. Please note that we are not asking for — nor applying for — local, state or federal money. Our development funds are coming from our JV partner, which is a US-based private equity firm.”
In regards to his third point, Bagley says that “the economic transformation ecosystem will take place in the Industrial Zones where data centers are allowed to be built, which is zoned as the ‘High Use Energy Overlay District’. Creating a state-of-the-art data center will provide IT jobs for area residents. The development will also bring considerable county, local and school board tax revenues that will expand economic opportunity across the region,” Bagley tells the Reporter.
Laying out his vision for the future of Niagara Falls, Bagley says “We believe that if we establish a network of properties and businesses that are user-friendly and convenient to trucking companies, warehouses, distribution centers, and other users of industrial office parks, we could help Niagara Falls transform into a regional hub for trade center logistics activity going north, south, east and west very easily and conveniently. The 9 Lives Digital Group campus and our AI digital data centers will be the flagship locations that begins the transformation of Niagara Falls from a significantly famous city of American history into a next generation ‘City of the Future.’”
MICHAEL BAGLEY ANSWERS READERS’ QUESTIONS
Mr. Bagley provided answers to questions sent to the Reporter by our readers. The most commonly asked question for 9LDG reps was whether or not there would be any bitcoin mining, and if it would be loud enough to disturb the nearby neighborhoods.
According to Bagley, “the noise level of the ‘bitcoin mining’ computers of yesteryear has been greatly reduced by the advanced technologies of the next generation of ‘digital asset data center’ computers that we will be using in 2025. Quite frankly, the bitcoin mining computers of 2020 are no longer even used by the industry so the noise from those computers will not even be an issue to worry about with the digital asset data center computers of today.”
He added, “9LDG will be testing and implementing ‘quiet technologies’ so that we can monitor noise levels appropriately while being responsible to the local community, especially the residents in nearby neighborhoods.”
Several readers noticed work being done on site and wrote to the Reporter, asking whether or not permits had been issued for any work to begin. Bagley told the Reporter, “We have not yet even applied for any permits because we have spent the first six months doing the very basics. Turning on the water systems, turning on the heating system, turning on the electricity, replacing lighting fixtures inside and outside around the property. Cleaning, painting, plumbing, fencing… All the very basics have taken the very first six months.”
He continued, “In fact, we have not even turned the power on at the substation yet and we are still 90 days out from doing even that. Finally… the containers that you see in the corner of the property are empty… there is nothing to plug in because there is not even any power yet, as I just mentioned.”
According to Michael Bagley, 9 Lives Digital Group plans on working together with the Niagara Falls City School District to host field trips for students who might be interested in careers involving A.I. He also says that 9 Lives “will be very friendly to folks requiring a ‘second chance’ job opportunity from previous felony records,” and the company plans to “hire veterans in the local area who also have specialized experience in areas like logistics, shipping, IT, and transportation, just to name a few industries.”
Lastly, Bagley says that 9LDG will help make the area safer by breathing life into a previously dormant property. He says, “as the neighborhood feels more safe, more businesses will eventually find their way into the neighborhood. And, as Niagara Falls begins to find itself becoming a center of trade and logistics for commerce on both sides of the border, more businesses will find their way to Niagara Falls. A coffee shop attracts a restaurant, which attracts retail stores, which attract a series of restaurants and stores and the ecosystem builds from there. Niagara Falls was once a popular destination in the 20th century. It can be a popular destination again in the 21st century as a ‘City of the Future.’”
