Image Credit: Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
While backlash over a proposed data center right next to the Nashville Zoo has dominated coverage over the past week, a different planned center at Fisk University is also taking heat, sparking two petitions and citizen trepidation, while other Tennessee municipalities have passed their own construction moratoriums amid rural preservation concerns.
Two online petitions, one started by an alumnus and the other by a resident mother, are circulating as opposition in North Nashville grows to a proposed data center as part of Fisk University’s recently announced “Quantum Leap”, a nearly $1 billion master plan for campus growth which includes a $400 million Innovation Center on the university’s campus.
According to the school, the 100,000 square foot Innovation & Technology Center would include 30,000 square feet of “academic space” and a 70,000 square foot technology center designed to support research, workforce development, and advanced technology programs.
And while university leaders have said the center will be designed to minimize environmental impacts and help position Fisk as a leader in innovation while creating opportunities for students and the community, some residents and alumni are unconvinced and are publicly pushing back against the plan.
The first petition, launched by 2017 graduate Winston Wright, currently has over 4,400 signatures and focuses on the impact the large facility could have on a “historically Black neighborhood”.
“The unprecedented growth of data centers built for generative AI across the country has been met with furious pushback from communities that have been adversely impacted by the current development boom,” Wright’s petition reads. While he said he understands the university’s need to generate revenue to secure its financial future, he believes Fisk should pursue solutions which do not potentially burden local neighborhoods or jeopardize “the health of our students and the health of our residents.”
A second petition was started by Kaylynn Mourning, a North Nashville mother of two who lives about 1.5 miles from Fisk’s campus, after she was informed about the development by a friend. She decided to organize after noticing limited public discussion on the proposal and focused her concerns on energy consumption, water usage, noise, air pollution, and potential long-term environmental impacts associated with large-scale data facilities.
“I just wanted to mainly get people’s attention, like, ‘Hey, this is coming to our neighborhood,’” Mourning stated. “If this gets it, then what’s to stop Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Lipscomb from getting it?”
In support of the project, Fisk University President Dr. Agenia Walker Clark said at a press conference, “This center will be in accordance with NES’ policies, which will not raise energy costs for our neighbors, because we are operating on this campus… We are working with our development partners to ensure that we make and take advantage of innovative technologies that will limit water consumption and energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and drive greater sustainability.”
Meanwhile a city in Robertson County has taken decisive action in regulating data centers, passing a two-year moratorium on construction of any data centers and cryptocurrency mines within city limits.
Cedar Hill Mayor John Edwards, who sponsored the resolution passed by the City Council, confirmed the measure is proactive and that there are no current plans for a data center in Cedar Hill, but that the moratorium gives the city time to weigh more permanent options and to see how legal challenges to other cities imposing outright bans will go.
“What they do with the air quality, the impacts on the environment. I don’t think that they belong here,” Edwards said. “For me, I just can’t see — at least right now — that it benefits us enough to justify what it costs us.”
And the City of McMinnville also approved an 18-month moratorium on data centers being brought to the city after the mayor called a special meeting to discuss the issue following community response to the announcement of plans by developers to build a 25-megawatt, 96,000 square foot data center in the rural town.
Residents circulated a petition against the project, seeking a 12-month moratorium, which has amassed almost 5,000 signatures and voiced concerns that the center would have irreversible negative impacts on the community, especially given the city already has a data facility.
At the meeting last Wednesday evening, officials decided to pass an 18-month measure which prevents the “acceptance, processing, and approval of applications for land use, zoning, building, site plan, or conditional use permits for data centers and high-density computing systems.”
The moratorium also says such facilities would require several impact studies, including those related to infrastructure, the environment, sound and facilities.
Data center regulation will likely continue to be a central focus amongst local governments and state leaders through the summer and into next year’s legislative session as Tennesseans seem to be generally opposed to their rapidly increasing presence in the state.
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.
One Response
Folks neither need nor want them.