DC Blox presses forward with Nashville data center plans despite pushback
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DC Blox is moving forward with plans for a data center near the Nashville Zoo despite gargantuan public pushback — and new criticism from environmental groups that say the project could harm endangered animals in the zoo and beyond.
Why it matters: The proposed data center is Nashville's most controversial development in recent years. More than half a million people have signed a petition opposing the effort.
Catch up quick: The Metro Planning Commission signed off on two bills that would curb data center development in Nashville.
- One plan, from Councilmember Courtney Johnston, would impose a temporary moratorium on the projects.
- Another proposal, from Councilmember Rollin Horton, would ban large centers and impose guardrails on smaller data center projects.
The latest: Despite the pushback, DC Blox attorney Doug Sloan told the planning commission that the 69,000-square-foot data center project will move forward.
- "This legislation is being driven by fear, and not facts," Sloan said. "We need to take the time to understand the facts. This building is vested. They are going to build it there."
Friction point: Two pro-environment groups wrote to DC Blox, cc'ing city leaders, saying the data center could hurt protected species that live in and near the zoo.
- "The proposed data center campus would be located just over a quarter mile from occupied habitat for the endangered Nashville crayfish, located in a tributary to Mill Creek known as Cathy Jo Branch," the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity said in their letter, sent June 25.
- "Noise pollution could be especially concerning for the endangered clouded leopards at the Nashville Zoo. Clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) are secretive, highly sensitive animals that are considered notoriously difficult to manage under human care," the groups said in the letter.
The other side: DC Blox has argued that its project can coexist with the zoo. Company leaders say their project will meet all regulatory requirements related to light, sound, stormwater and energy usage.
- The company says it will use closed-loop cooling, meaning it will draw water from Metro once and then continually recycle it to keep its data system operating at a safe temperature.
What they're saying: "DC Blox remains committed to being a responsible neighbor and to addressing concerns with transparency and data rather than speculation," the company said in an executive summary of its project.
- "Because the welfare of the Nashville Zoo animals is just as important to us as the well-being of the surrounding community, DC Blox seeks meetings with the Nashville Zoo [and Metro officials]."