Future Harvests: How Quincy became a data center boomtown

Quincy, Washington, has become a data-center boomtown. Microsoft opened the Columbia Data Center in 2006, followed by Yahoo and Sabey, and today there are about 27 data-center buildings in and around Quincy, including four large campuses owned by Microsoft, Sabey, and H5. The expansion began with Yahoo’s Wenatchee tenancy in 2003 near Pangborn Memorial Airport, and accelerated as cloud computing spread.

A February 2026 Columbia Riverkeeper report frames data centers as economic benefits and environmental concerns. A Gallup poll shows 70% oppose expansion, while locals call the growth transformative. The boom has boosted investment and taxes but raised questions about water and electricity use.