Not only could you hear the opposition to the Project Marvel data center plan at last week’s Bessemer, Alabama, city council meeting, you could see it too. The chamber was full of people wearing red, the color of solidarity with those organizing against a plan to bring a $14.5 billion “hyperscale” data center to a wooded property that runs along the city limits.
But despite all the red, and all the public comments from people who are concerned about the resources the data center could suck up and the potential for pollution, too, the city council voted 5-2 to rezone the property from agricultural to light industrial, marking a significant step forward for Project Marvel.
Black and White United in Opposition
Council members Donna Thigpen, who is white, and Cleo King, who is Black, were the only two “no” votes.
The city of 25,000 people is nearly 70% Black. In the more rural areas outside of Bessemer city limits, where most of the potential neighbors to the data center live, the population is much whiter. But both communities seem to be well represented in the opposition to the data center, which has raised a host of concerns not only for immediate neighbors but potentially for people across Alabama, too.
Secrecy, NDAs, and Few Public Answers
But answers to any questions about water usage, the potential for increased utility costs for all Alabama Power rate payers, environmental damage, and pollution from backup diesel generators have been hard to come by — if not impossible. Many Bessemer city council members signed NDAs with Logistic Land Investment, the developer behind the Project Marvel plan…