(NewsNation) — Imagine living next to the Vantage data center in Sterling, Virginia — which stands tall, with its blue walls and massive generators — and having to hear its constant ringing.

The massive facility was never hooked up to the power grid, so the generators are its only source of electricity.

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Neighbor Hari Doue said residents were told the generators were temporary. That was more than a year ago.

“We were told in the beginning that they test the generators to make sure they’re working in case of an emergency,” she told NewsNation’s Brian Entin. “And then as the year and the months have gone on, they’re just never turned off.”

Greg Pirio also lives next to the data center and says, with the constant noise, “You just want to curse — it’s that bad.”

He said he’s concerned about property values and has consulted with lawyers to see what options owners may have.

But it’s about more than money. It’s about quality of life, homeowners say. One neighbor even put plexiglass against the window to block the noise and uses sound meters to monitor the decibel level.

Virginia is the data center epicenter of the world. There are hundreds of them — consuming more than 25% of the state’s power and driving up electric bills.

President Trump has encouraged data centers to build dedicated energy sources to help protect utility customers against rate hikes.

There are positives with data centers. They create jobs when they are built, and they generate local tax revenue that can help schools and lower property taxes. And they are pretty much inevitable with the way we use technology, arguably becoming essential infrastructure.

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Neighbors of the Vantage data center don’t disagree with some of these points, and they don’t hate all data centers. But they don’t think they should be built so close to neighborhoods.

Hari’s advice to people who learn of plans for new data centers near them?

“Do everything in your power to try to stop it from being built in an area that has any residential properties within 10 to 15 miles of it,” she says.

Company officials have said noise levels are monitored and do not exceed legal limits.

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