- Nashville Zoo launches petition opposing nearby data center project
- 375,000 people have signed the protest petition, local representatives and politicians are speaking up
- Officials fear the data center could affect animal welfare, conservation and visitors
The Nashville Zoo has become the latest high-profile opponent of US 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 for a proposed 69,000 square meter facility to be built on neighboring land, and just a week later it already has 375,000 signatures.
“Scientists warn that data centers also contribute to noise pollution, light pollution and threaten water quality in surrounding communities,” the zoo wrote in a blog post.
Nashville Zoo raises animal welfare and conservation concerns
The Nashville Zoo worries about the project’s impact on its captive leopard breeding program, but users also care for other animals involved in other breeding and conservation programs. All in all, 3,000 animals live at the facility.
Looking ahead, the zoo also worries that the data center project could halt its plans to create a breeding facility for the okapi.
“None have shared studies or environmental impact assessments,” the zoo wrote online, referencing “growing concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of data centers nationwide.”
Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston pledged to “do everything in [her] power, legislative and otherwise, to prevent this development next to our beloved zoo,” including filing a moratorium.
Johnston noted that while current plans include a single-story 10 MW facility, the 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 that the law does not protect them
Executive director Rick Schwartz also noted that the zoo has spent years discussing the purchase of the same parcel of land next door, for an education and conservation center.
“The building is already there,” he said (via Fox 17). “It would save the zoo a tremendous amount of money. It would serve tens of thousands of children for conservation education.”
Nashville residents aren’t the only US citizens talking about the 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 sprung up in response to the Nashville plans, warns that a Texas county was forced to drop its moratorium days after a developer sued. Separately, a North Carolina county is in court over similar issues, so Nashville and indeed other US regions may prove ineffective in imposing moratoriums as well.
DC BLOX, the company responsible for the proposed project, does not appear to have commented publicly on the setback, nor has it publicly shared details of its Nashville investment. As a provider of data center and other connected services to hyperscalers, partners and customers, it is unclear what the purpose of this specific site would be.
TechRadar Pro reached out for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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