Tag Archives for Slater Mill

AI Data Centers Spark Utility-Cost Concerns for Older Rate Payers

Published in RINewsToday on May 25, 2026

The Industrial Revolution began at Slater Mill in Pawtucket and transformed the economy through machine-powered manufacturing. Now, 260 years later, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the economy again as computers take on more jobs and reshape industries.

Artificial Intelligence may feel distant from the daily lives of many older Rhode Islanders, but the electric bills needed to power it could become personal. As AI data centers expand across the country, consumer advocates and lawmakers are asking whether residential rate payers — including seniors on fixed incomes — could end up subsidizing the energy infrastructure needed by some of the world’s largest technology companies.

For older adults living on Social Security, pensions, or other fixed incomes, even modest increases in electric bills can mean tradeoffs with food, medication, transportation, or home maintenance.

AI data centers have servers and special computer hardware that run AI systems. Thousands of advanced chips quickly process data to train and run AI models for tasks such as analytics, image generation, and chatbots. Large data centers consume significant amounts of electricity and require advanced cooling systems. This has led to concerns about higher electricity bills, increased water use, and environmental impacts.

The rapid growth of AI has accelerated investment by major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. By March 2026, Consumer Reports noted that there were 3,069 data centers across the country, with 1,489 more planned or under construction. Rhode Island has seven data centers.

Some researchers say that AI is driving up electricity demand. A report from Bloom Energy in January 2026 predicts that U.S. data centers will use between 80 and 150 gigawatts of energy, almost doubling from 2025 to 2028.

Opposition Builds Against AI Data Center Projects

Gallup Poll’s first survey on data center construction, released on May 13, 2026, found that many Americans are worried about AI data centers being built in their communities. People are concerned about the use of large areas of land and the possible environmental, economic, and social effects. Seven out of ten people surveyed are against these projects in their area, and almost half (48%) are strongly opposed. Only about a quarter support the centers, and just 7% are strongly in favor, notes Jeffrey M. Jones, the author of the Gallup Poll report.

About one in five people who oppose data centers worry about how they might affect daily life. Their concerns include increased noise, air and water pollution, heavier traffic, and the desire to use the land for something else. Some also mention higher utility bills, rising living costs, and the possible need for subsidies.

“Most of the remaining opposition stems from general or specific concerns about Artificial Intelligence,” notes Jones.

Even though many people have concerns, the survey shows that supporters of AI data centers view the situation differently. Most supporters point to potential economic benefits, such as new jobs, increased tax revenue, and improved infrastructure as the main positives.

When it comes to politics, the Gallup poll found that most people—whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent—do not want a data center built near their homes. The survey notes that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be strongly opposed (56% compared to 39%), with independents in the middle at 48%.

Older Ratepayers Push Back Against Higher Utility Rates

As AI data centers grow rapidly, AARP in Washington, DC, is monitoring rising power demand and the associated costs. Approximately 40 states have considered legislative or regulatory action related to the impact of large data centers on utility costs, grid reliability, or water use.

AARP’s 2025 report, ‘Powering AI, Draining Wallets: Consumers Could Be at Risk for Steep Electric Bills,’ was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and sampled U.S. households aged 50+. Survey results show that 69% of people aged 50 and over have seen their electric bills go up in the past year, and one in four say the increase is significant. 78% are worried about rising electricity costs, underscoring the financial stress many older adults feel.

75% of respondents call on state leaders to ensure that regular customers do not have to pay for the electricity used by new data centers. While 78% think data centers should cover their own utility costs rather than receive government assistance, just  3% believe ratepayers should pay.

Both Democrats (76%) and Republicans (74%) want state governments to protect customers from having to subsidize AI data centers.

In Oklahoma Older Residents Weigh In on AI Data Center Debate

Also, an AARP report, “Utility Affordability and Large Data Centers,” noted that older Oklahomans, especially those living on fixed incomes, are very worried about data centers and whether they can afford their bills

“Across the country, states are facing the same fundamental question: how to support rapid growth in energy demand without risking affordability for everyday consumers,” said Jenn Jones, Vice President of Financial Security and Livable Communities at AARP, in an April 28, 2026, statement announcing the release of the report.

The survey found that most Oklahomans (92%) think state leaders should make sure current residential customers do not have to pay for the costs of new data centers. Many (86%) also believe that data center companies should pay for the big electricity and infrastructure costs themselves.

Regulating Rhode Island’s Burgeoning Data Center Industry

Supporters of data center development argue that the facilities can bring construction jobs, permanent technical and security jobs, local tax revenue, and investment in electric-grid infrastructure. The central policy question is not whether data centers should exist, but who pays for the added power capacity they require — the companies that use it, or the broader pool of residential and business customers.

On Jan. 28, 2026, House Speaker Pro Tempore Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Dist. 38, Hopkinton, Westerly) introduced H 7331 to implement state regulations on data centers being built in Rhode Island. The bill was referred to the House Corporations Committee. In the upper chamber, Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton) later introduced the Senate companion measure, S 2776, on March 4, 2026, which was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. Both legislative proposals have since been recommended for further study.

“Data centers have become controversial because they often require improvements to the electric infrastructure, with ratepayers footing the bill,” said Rep. Kennedy. “This, coupled with substantial environmental implications, requires a regulatory framework that can balance the economic benefits of data centers with our energy and environmental concerns,” he says.

Both legislative proposals require the Public Utilities Commission to ensure protections for ratepayers in Rhode Island by preventing data center operators from passing their electricity costs on to residential and other business customers. Data centers must pay their own way to protect ratepayers from subsidizing the large-scale private energy demands of these projects, and no costs related to the construction of electric infrastructure should be allocated to other customers.

It would also require each data center to submit an annual report to the RI Department of Environmental Management detailing daily water withdrawals, the cooling technologies used, and water recycling or reuse practices. It would allow the DEM director to require a data center to submit a water efficiency, conservation, or recycling plan as a condition of any permit issued. A final provision requires financial assurance that provides for site restoration in the event of abandonment or cessation of operations.

For older Rhode Islanders, the debate is likely to be less about artificial intelligence itself than about affordability. As data centers expand, lawmakers and regulators will face a basic question: how to support new technology and economic development without shifting private infrastructure costs onto households already struggling with rising utility bills.

___

The Slater Mill Field Trip: Following the Foot Steps of Samuel Slater

Published June 21, 2021 in Pawtucket Time’s Special Supplement, 100 Years/Old Slater Mill Association

In Pawtucket’s downtown, you will find historic Slater Mill, consisting of the Slater and Wilkinson Mill and the Sylvanus Brown House, sitting on five acres of land on both sides of the Blackstone river, a mill that celebrates America’s Industrial Revolution, to generations of visiting students.

Pawtucket resident Patricia S. Zacks fondly recalls her field trip to Slater Mill almost 60 years ago. “We were escorted single file by all the machines.  Some were even operational, she said.

Looking back, the former student from Curtis Elementary School says, “it was a rite of passage for every elementary student to pass thru the old mills doors,” says Zacks. “We went home with a little piece of cotton. It was a very special day for me,” she says.”

Like Zacks found out, the Slater Mill Field Trip is as iconic as many other Rhode Island institutions. Many Rhode Islanders between the ages of 10 and 75 have experienced this “rite of passage” of sorts for elementary school students in the state, particularly 4th graders.

As Authentic As You Can Get

“Slater Mill is authentic as you can get, it’s not recreated like many historical sites scattered throughout the nation,” says President Robert Bllington, of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council. “When visiting, the young students walk on 200-year-old floors, he says, actually walking on the fir wooden planks that Samuel Slater, the Father of the American Revolution” once walked on.

“It’s hard to find a museum that makes things right in front of your eyes.  Slater Mill is that place for the young students,” he notes.

Although, Older Slater Mill Association’s (OSMA) Bylaws recognized the museum’s important role in educating children to future careers in the textile industry, things didn’t happen immediately.  In 1921, the non-profit was founded, saving the historic mill. Efforts to restore the mill began in 1923, restoring the mill to its 1835 appearance.  During a 1961 Annual Meeting, OSMA President Norm MacColl recalled the mill for “nearly 30 years stood as a shell, seldom used and sparely visited.”  He suggested that there was not an education program nor much student visitation prior to this.


Student visitations began in the mid-1950s, when East Avenue School in Pawtucket and schools as far away as South Orange, New Jersey, New York City, came to the City to visit the mill.  Admission fees for the visiting students were kept affordable by the OSMA, with adults being charged 50 cents and 25 cents for children. 

In 1962, a new record was set as 28,648 visitors came to Slater Mill, half being students. By 1974, inflation and the energy crisis had an impact on student visits to the mill.  During this year, OSMA hired Cynthia Dougherty to be its first dedicated school services staffer, a position that would grew to a full-time Curator of Education.  OSM’s education staff “Museum on Wheels” program to bring Slater Mill’s history to the schools.

Tying into Educational Curriculum 

By May 2003, Slater mill staff were dressed in simple ‘period’ costumes, which were upgraded a few years later, says Rosemary Danforth, former Outreach Program Presenter, and an on-site Interpreter who joined the OSMA staff in 2002. “That became a selling point for some of the teachers,” she remembers.

OSMA staff worked closely with visiting teachers, coordinating the onsite experience with their curriculum, says Danforth, with staff fitting the tour to the specific educational level of the visiting students.  

Over the years, the number of students would fluctuate, being tied to gas shortages and the economy.  Just a few years ago state education policy advising that families should not be approached to support the cost of field trips due to potential inequities would reduce the number of student visits.

Funding to support the OSMA’s operations and programs would come from the City of Pawtucket, state and federal grants, civic groups including the Rotary Club of Pawtucket and from local businesses.  These contributions led to the first free field trip offerings for RI public schools.

Before the pandemic, Lori Urso, Executive Director of Slater Mill, recalls that “we typically had 7000 – 8000 students per year, counting those who came to the site, and those who’s schools our staff visited. Some years it even reached 10,000.  

Looking Forward

Today, visiting students don’t walk past metal railings to keep them from touching the machine exhibits.  The philosophy of hands-on experience is built into the ___ hour tour. For instance, a child is allowed to turn a small metal wheel.  An attached leather strap from its rim is connected to a smaller gear operating a drill press that ultimately drills a hole in a wooden spool.  

According to Urso, the Field Trip has evolved to a more STEAM-based, and place-based objective. In response to educator feedback asking for more hands-on activities at the museum, a fiber art studio component was introduced, with a participating artist, to compliment the science and tech aspects. It was a highly-praised program that unfortunately came to a halt with the onset of the COVID Pandemic, closure of schools, and elimination of field trip programs.”

“The timing of the return of the Slater Mill Field Trip remains unclear at the moment,” says Urso. “The National Park Service is eager to welcome students back to the mill in the future, but much of this depends on the policies of the individual school districts, and priorities for student and teacher safety,” she says.

Slater Mill Showcases Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll Flick  

Published in the Woonsocket Call on October 11, 2015

When planning the 2nd Annual S.A.M. Fest, in conjunction with this years Pawtucket Arts Festival, Slater Mill’s Executive Director, Lori Urso scheduled a showing of Jim Wolpaw’s “Complex World.” Urso, also a professional musician, knew featuring the film at her event in August was a great way to both promote a local Providence filmmaker and give homage to The Young Adults, a popular rock band playing at the nonprofit’s weekend festival, too.

Rediscovering a Classic Film at S.A.M. Fest

On Aug. 30, more than 80 people gathered early evening at Hodgson Rotary Park to watch on a big outdoor screen the 81-minute offbeat cult rock ‘n’ roll comedy filmed at Providence’s Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. While the film attracted the curious, many adoring and loyal fans of The Young Adults came to check out the flick, too, says Urso.

The Complex World captures one night at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, with its zany plot involving terrorists, political conspiracy, 100 pounds of explosives in the bar’s basement and drugs, with music from iconic Providence bands such as the Young Adults, NRBQ and Roomful of Blues. The film had a brief two-month run in a Boston and one week in New York City, and it garnered good reviews. However, a distribution deal with Hemdale, a major film distributor that released “The Terminator” and the “Last Emperor,” fell through, ending up in a lawsuit. Even though Wolpaw won his case and a small settlement, the legal battle sealed the film’s fate. Over the years, the filmmaker’s DVDs have been sold on a website, and the last public showing was in 2010, for two days at the Providence-based Cable Car to raise money for a local charity.

Urso, 51, remembers being an extra during the 1987 film shoot, “a biker chick hanging out in the bar’s parking lot” at 79 Washington St.  “Quite a few people that I knew showed up to be extras that night. I’m glad I was able to be part of it,” she said.

Rudy Cheeks one of the founders of Young Adults and co-writer of the Phillip & Jorge column published in “Motiff Magazine,” was in attendance during the S.A.M. Fest screening, and he observed people of all ages in attendance, many of whom watched the film for the first time.

Even though the film was produced about 25 years ago, “it’s held up pretty well over the years,” says Cheeks. “The strongest part of the film was its ‘mise en scène,’ the capturing of the inside atmosphere of the bar.”

Adds, Rick Bellaire, Chair and Archive Director of Pawtucket-based Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, the Wolpaw’s Indie film produced outside of the major film studio system, is a great Rock and Roll documentary.  “It was a snap shot of what was happening in the Rhode Island music scene at the time the film was shot,” he says.

The Making of a Classic Film

While it took about two-and-a-half months to shoot the film in 1987, it took more than two years to bring “Complex World” to the screen of the Cable Car Theatre in 1990, says Wolpaw, noting that it ran for a record four months. The veteran filmmaker, who was nominated for an Academy Award for a 1985 documentary, was brought into this film project by Rich Lupo, the owner of Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, who just happened to be his roommate at Brown University and later a bartender and manager at the Providence bar.

In 1970, when both young men graduated from Brown University they shared their dreams. Lupo planned to open up a bar with music while Wolpaw wanted to become a filmmaker.  Wolpaw agreed to use Lupo’s bar in film if he opened on up.  “I never would have believed at that time we would both end up at that place,” says Lupo.

According to Wolpaw, the efforts to create and fund a film began a year before the bar was going to be torn down to make way for condos. The film was to use Lupo’s as a basis for the movie to “explain the spirit of the bar,” he said, noting that it would be shot like a documentary film.

Lupo invested the most to produce the film, but with increased costs, other friends chipped in, said Wolpaw. The unique film stood out among films that were produced in Hollywood, he said, “noting it was not the typical movie.”

Two years of editing and reshoots would later result in the final film, says Wolpaw, noting that over the years and even at the Slater Mill screening he “had trouble watching it.” Shooting the film like a documentary just did not work for the plot, he said, but it captured an early era of the Providence music scene.

Even after more than two decades since being released, orders for “Complex World” keep trickling in, says Wolpaw, who has worked as an adjunct film professor at Emerson College in Boston, the University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island School of Design. He is pleasantly surprised that orders come in from such faraway places as British Columbia and France.

A Prolific Filmmaker  

Besides his Classic “Complex World,” Wolpaw is known for innovative approaches in considering artists and issues in the arts, and he has an impressive number of films under his belt:  “Cobra Snake for a Necktie” (Showtime 1980), a portrait of rock ‘n’ roll legend Bo Diddley; “Loaded Gun: Life, and Death, and Dickinson” (PBS 2003, INPUT 2004), a quirky look at poet Emily Dickinson that was chosen by “The Library Journal” for its list of Best Poetry Films; and “First Face: The Buck Starts Here” (PBS 2011), an accounting of the dollar bill portrait of George Washington.

Even at 67, Wolpaw, who has won awards at more than a dozen film festivals worldwide, has not slowed down. He is still working on three projects, a film about Cleveland poet and activist Daniel Thomson, one detailing the history of Rhode Island’s Ladd Center and a fictional narrative film about poet Dickinson. Hopefully, they will have a long shelf life and audience like “Complex World.”

“Complex Word” can capture viewers who wish to relive their experiences at Lupo’s, and purchases of the DVD benefit the Gloria Gemma Foundation and Advocates in Action. For details, go to www.complexworldthemovie.com.

 

H