Data centers, like this one in Texas, are raising concerns in Rhode Island as developers seek permission to build them. (istock)
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — When a data center was proposed as the anchor tenant for a new industrial park by Hanton City Investments LLC, the town was quick to respond. The proposal, which came across the Planning Board’s desk earlier this year, would have greenlit “various industrial and warehouse uses, including data centers, digital/data processing facilities and/or data storage/processing facilities.”
“The birds, the turtles, the butterflies that are up there, everything was a concern. Most of the people that testified were very much concerned about the water and the amount of electricity that was going to be used up there,” Town Council President John Tassoni Jr. said. “I’m not selling my soul for tax revenue.”…