Despite overwhelming public opposition, officials in Bessemer voted to recommend changes to city zoning ordinances to allow the massive development. Its operation could strain the state’s water and power supplies and leave an already imperiled fish species at risk of extinction.
This story is maddening. Bessemer city officials are signing NDAs about a proposed hyperscale data center that will require destroying 100 acres of forest, use 90x as much energy as all homes of the city, & threaten a newly discovered species with extinction.
This story is maddening. Bessemer city officials are signing NDAs about a proposed hyperscale data center that will require destroying 100 acres of forest, use 90x as much energy as all homes of the city, & threaten a newly discovered species with extinction.
100 acres is less than a sixth of a square mile, and Bessemer City doesn’t use a ton of electricity, being as rural as it is.
The endangered species is more concerning, but feels solvable if they use environmentally conscious design practices with regards to the waterway.
Idk, I think that new data centers are something of a “necessary evil” in our modern society, and they have to be built somewhere.
Sure, new data centers are a necessary evil that have to be built somewhere, but ……
What’s in it for the town?
Sure they should be somewhere but how about somewhere with the infrastructure to support it? Somewhere already developed?