CHILDERSBURG, Ala.—At the recent City Council meeting, there was little public discussion about the proposed hyperscale data center in this town of 5,000 near Birmingham. The Childersburg City Council unanimously approved a zoning ordinance change permitting the data center’s operation at a site within a planned unit development (PUD).
The ordinance recognizes data centers as critical infrastructure essential to national and regional economic interests. The property, transferred to the city from the federal government in 2003, previously hosted a munitions operation during World War II and produced materials for the Manhattan Project.
Since the war, the site has been a point of concern due to environmental contamination from munitions production and asbestos. It was put on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s national priorities list for remediation in 1987, but cleanup efforts have been inconsistent.
A 2023 Army Corps of Engineers report indicated potential exposure risks for industrial workers due to soil contamination. The city of Childersburg plans to attract private development while groundwater contamination investigations continue.
Mayor Ken Wesson has been negotiating with a potential developer for a hyperscale data center, despite the site’s historical challenges. Wesson has signed a confidentiality agreement with the developer, identified as WHP Development.
Despite concerns from residents about the impact of a data center, such as noise and resource consumption, the city council has approved the initial steps for the project. The $6 billion project promises a 500-megawatt data center with a glycol-based cooling system, creating about 220 permanent jobs.
While some residents voiced opposition, citing issues like secrecy and environmental concerns, the mayor is optimistic about the development’s potential benefits. The project is still in the planning stages, with further assessments needed to finalize the site’s suitability.
Mayor Wesson expressed a hopeful outlook on transforming the site from its wartime past to a future that supports economic growth. Discussions with stakeholders continue as the city moves towards solidifying the development agreement.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org