APPOMATTOX CO., Va. – Concerns are growing in Appomattox County over a proposed data center project and the resources it could require, particularly water usage.
The proposal, still in its early stages, would bring a multi-building data center campus to a local industrial park. Local leaders say the development could create more than 200 jobs and provide a boost to the county’s economy.
But some residents are raising questions about the potential strain on local water supplies, especially as demand for data center cooling continues to be a topic of debate nationwide.
“I think it’s critical that we protect it and that we don’t allow these large data centers and companies to come into our area and use that water when our own citizens don’t even have access to that water,” said Sandy Glass, a concerned local.
Officials with the Appomattox County Economic Development Authority say those concerns may be overstated. Garet Bosiger, the authority’s president, said the planned facilities would rely primarily on closed-loop, air-cooling systems that use minimal water.
“Each data center uses a closed-loop, air cooling system, and it uses electricity but minimal water,” Bosiger said. “Each data center will use what 15 residences use.”
10 News will have the full story Thursday night.