A third option instead of a dump or data center
We have been told there are only two options, dump or data center. The third option could be the County purchasing the property and developing it. This option could allow numerous possibilities that would have a lot less of an impact on the environment.
I cannot think of anyone who would want a small group of people to completely decide their future without their input. The two choices, the dump or the data center, would have tremendous impacts on our, and our children’s, quality of life.
We need a massive amount of community involvement to help us navigate through the issues our county is facing. I attended the meeting that was held at the Brantley County Courthouse. A 90minute webinar on data centers was shown. You can find the webinar by ACCG on the Brantley County Commissioners website.
I assumed the webinar would take a pro data center stance. However, it laid out the good and the bad. It mentions data centers can cause large amounts of air pollutions even with emissions devices in place. A large data center can use as much power as the city of Miami.
I have seen some data centers which were using more than 200 natural gas industrial generators, which were housed in containerized units the size and shape of railroad box cars or shipping containers.
The video states a large data center can use as much as six million gallons of water everyday. An individual speaking in favor of the data center at the commissioners meeting described a system which is supposed to be a closed loop system. No water use after the initial top off. However, a system that is not completely sealed is not a closed loop system.
In addition, the person who approached the county about the possibility of a data center appears to be a broker who is looking the buy and then resale the land.
If the commissioners change the land use ordinance to allow data centers, the value of the property will skyrocket. The county would no longer be able to even consider buying the property.
Deep thought needs to go into this matter. We need to carefully weigh out the benefits of adding to our tax base versus the significant environmental impacts of choosing a data center.
One more very important issue mentioned in the video shown at the courthouse was that SMR’s are the future for data centers. They start with natural gas and transition to small modular reactors, nuclear reactors.
We need to explore other options in a matter as important as this.
Robert Wilson
