- Nashville Zoo launches petition opposing nearby data center project
- 375,000 people have signed the protest petition, local representatives and politicians speak
- Officials fear the data center could impact animal welfare, conservation and visitors.
The Nashville Zoo has become the latest high-profile opponent of American data center projects after several cities and states imposed temporary restrictions on new construction.
The zoo launched an online petition to try to stop plans to build a 69,000-square-foot facility on neighboring land, and just a week later, it already has 375,000 signatures.
“Researchers warn that data centers also contribute to noise and light pollution and threaten water quality in surrounding communities,” the zoo wrote in a blog post.
Nashville Zoo Raises Concerns About Animal Welfare, Conservation
The Nashville Zoo worries about the project’s impacts on its clouded leopard breeding program, but keepers also care for other animals involved in other breeding and conservation programs. In total, 3,000 animals reside in the facilities.
Looking ahead, the zoo is also concerned that the data center project could halt its plans to create a breeding facility for the Okapi.
“No one has shared any studies or environmental impact assessments,” the zoo wrote online, referencing “growing concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of data centers across the country.”
Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston vowed to “do everything possible to [her] power, legislatively and otherwise, to prevent this development next to our beloved zoo,” including introducing a moratorium.
Johnston noted that while current plans include a single-story 10 MW facility, expansion plans outline a three-story 40 MW upgrade, a “dedicated substation, separate generator yards for each data center, stormwater basins, a guardhouse, internal access roads” and more.
Americans Worry Laws Don’t Protect Them
Executive Director Rick Schwartz also noted that the zoo has spent years discussing purchasing the same land next door for an education and conservation center.
“The building is already there,” he said (via fox 17). “It would save the zoo an enormous amount of money. It would help tens and tens of thousands of children receive conservation education.”
Nashville residents aren’t the only U.S. citizens speaking out about data center construction plans. The city of Seattle recently announced a one-year moratorium on new projects while it figures out how to legislate and regulate such projects.
However, ‘No New Data Centers,’ a website that emerged in response to Nashville’s plans, warns that one Texas county was forced to abandon its moratorium days after a developer filed a lawsuit. Furthermore, a North Carolina county is in court over similar issues, so Nashville and, indeed, other regions of the United States could also prove ineffective in imposing moratoriums.
DC BLOX, the company responsible for the proposed project, does not appear to have publicly commented on the backlash nor has it publicly shared details of its investment in Nashville. As a provider of data centers and other connected services to hyperscalers, partners and customers, it is unclear what the purpose of this specific site would be.
TechRadar Pro We reached out for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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