Image Credit: What Is Going On In Cleveland Tennessee / Facebook & Project River.
Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –
Dozens of residents in Bradley County gathered over the weekend in opposition to a multi-billion dollar proposed energy campus dubbed “Project River” which is projected to host its own power plant and potentially a large data center.
The demonstration reportedly came about a week after residents left a packed informational meeting hosted by several of the developers unsatisfied as attendees were not permitted to ask questions during the panel portion of the event and some of the pre-screened questions did not receive full answers.
Representatives of Wright Brothers Construction, Azure Energy, and others discussed the plans for the Project River major industrial complex, which is expected to generate over $11 billion in economic investments and create approximately 2,600 new jobs, with a large chunk of those jobs aimed at reinvigorating the area’s logging industry.
Developers have pitched the project as a radically different approach to most traditional data or power centers, aiming to create most of their own electricity through natural gas and a biomass drying system at an on-site power plant. They claim that 1,000 megawatts would be generated by natural gas while 500 megawatts would be produced by biomass from pine trees.
The complex would theoretically support advanced manufacturing which could include some kind of semiconductor or robotics production or a data center. But developers reiterated that the project does not officially contain plans for a data center at this time and there is no contract with any major power supplier as the project is still in its very early stages.
While there have been some supporters of the proposal, particularly those who see the potential for long-term job creation, many residents are hardly enthused about the project, especially as they believe they have not received substantial answers to concerns like water usage, environmental impact, noise and air pollution, tax incentives, or impact on property values.
One resident said after the meeting, “This has happened in other places and they lie about this. We have to hold them accountable.”
“The noise pollution we would have from this will make Bowater [an old pulp mill] look like a toy truck. There’s been no consideration to the people who live in Bradley County. They just see dollar signs,” said another.
Project River cannot advance without rezoning and annexation approval from the Cleveland City Council, which will be necessary to have the land supplied by municipal water and sewer service, according to the developers.
The Wright family, which owns the roughly 850 acres Wright Brothers Construction seeks to develop, has submitted the annexation and zoning applications, with the Cleveland Planning Commission slated to hear the Project River annexation request on Sept. 15. Given the amount of opposition the project is already facing, it is likely the City Council will receive continued citizen pushback as the zoning and annexation discussions continue.
Some of that pushback came in the form of a silent protest on Sunday organized by Cleveland resident Isaiah Bayliss who said he wanted to translate the online conversations into a tangible demonstration. The protest did not have any shouting or chanting but rather saw a stream of people from all age groups walking through the city and holding signs opposing the project.
“I wanted to organize something where we can kind of be seen and not heard,” Bayliss said. “It’s just a show of numbers to let people know, raise more awareness, and kind of have a polite, respectful, organized group just working together. This proposed project…it doesn’t care if you’re young or old, doesn’t care which side of the political parties you’re aligned with. This is something that’s going to have a big impact on the area, and so I just wanted to see an organized group of people come together.”
Protestors said their main aim was to be seen and have county leaders and developers pay attention, listening to concerns and offering them more answers before any part of the project moves forward.
CEO of Wright Brothers Construction Mitchell Simpson has maintained that Project River will have a positive impact on the community. “Us as local citizens and acting as developers, we’re trying to develop this in the best interest of the community while they also get the benefit of it at the end of the day with jobs and with property tax dollars,” he said.
Another public informational meeting is planned for September 12 from 10 A.M. to noon, but many Bradley County residents remain unconvinced it will go any better than the first.
This local opposition is reflective of the broader conflict Tennesseans appear to be having in many municipalities as data centers and similar projects have not been well received across board.
A recent Beacon Center poll showed that 61% of Tennessee voters across the political spectrum do not support tax incentives being offered to court data centers to the state. The poll also noted that voters’ biggest concern about data centers was the impact on electricity costs and reliability for ratepayers followed by water use and other environmental impacts.
The state legislature did take some action on data centers during the 2026 session, passing a law requiring certain facilities to self-fund, but whether it will build on these measures in 2027 is yet to be determined as some state lawmakers have said they see data centers as a necessary national security asset for the future and that state officials do not have the authority to intervene so long as the projects are developed lawfully on private property.
Sources:
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
WDEF.
MSN.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
