Harpersville hosts data center informational session
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Staff Report
More than 130 residents of Harpersville and surrounding areas gathered Monday for the first informational session on data centers and their potential impacts on infrastructure, the environment, zoning, and the community.
This series of meetings is planned over the coming six months to help the Town Council and residents better understand issues related to data centers.
Mayor Theoangelo Perkins opened the session by explaining that Harpersville has not been approached about data center location, but that the town wanted to be proactive in understanding the potential impacts of a data center.
Steve Ammons, executive director of the Birmingham Business Alliance, briefly addressed the audience. He emphasized that the BBA works with numerous businesses over several counties to promote responsible business development.
Trevor Sutton, chief economist of the Birmingham Business Alliance, then gave an overview of data centers. He stated that data center construction is being pushed by technology competition in artificial intelligence.
Data center locations are dependent on available land with utilities, including power and water. Water usage is usually a “closed loop,” meaning the system for the center circulates the same water rather than continually drawing from a water source.
Noise from generators and cooling systems increases in hot weather, creating noise impacts to surrounding areas.
While news coverage presents images of large data center construction sites, from 100 to 1,000 acres, there are other size data centers. A smaller data center may be located on 10 to 50 acres and lease its computing capability to other data facilities. The smallest accessory data centers are located in a small building or even a single room within a building.
Sutton described that construction of a data center may create 50 to 100 jobs. The equipment in a data center has to be replaced in three to five years as it becomes obsolete. The upgrade of equipment gives a community opportunities to gain financially on the investment in their area.
The Town of Harpersville has created a planning committee comprised of the Planning Board, the Town Council, the Water Board, and the town engineer. This committee will gather information on data center impacts, including visiting other communities where data centers are already present or are under construction.
The next information session is scheduled for Monday, September 28, at 6 p.m. at the Harpersville Community Center.
