The topic of data centers seems unavoidable in the current rush of things. Even Hempstead has not entirely avoided this part of the everchanging world of tech. The Hempstead County President of Economic Development Anna Lee Powell presented details at the Thursday (8-27) night monthly meeting.
“Just to be informative and transparent to the public. “We are in the initial phases of the project,” Powell said.
She said they normally do not give all the details of a project like this, but they do want the citizens to know what is taking place.
JP Ed Darling also discussed the details on the data center pamphlet that Powell created for the county meeting. Darling said though the information lists this as a $400 million dollar investment, that it is still relatively small, compared to other centers being built. He said he has been looking into this and the National Association of Counties said two things they should not do is offer tax abatements and don’t give them any cash incentives. He said they will not be doing that. Darling said the county had been given an opportunity and he used the terms “fortunately or unfortunately” , depending on which side of this you end up on, he said.
“It’s only a 10 percent investment of what most data centers are,” Darling said. Darling said that “this could keep a bigger one from “breathing down our throat.” The county officials addressed all the concerns the general public is having on the ideas of data centers such as water usage and electricity costs going up. The $400 million dollars isn’t a grant, it is an investment, according to the data center literature.
Although the county did discuss a special grant that has been established by the governor’s office that is a $2 million-dollar Rural Health Transformation Grant, Powell said more information will be available later on that money and where the county can actually use and apply. Powell noted the county has applied for numerous grants and help.
Powell said she was “kind of neutral” on the data center project but did say “they will pay full property taxes and that is “an advantage to the county.” “I don’t want to be the data center capital of the world, but this will help with generating revenue for the county,” she said. Powell also said this will “diversify” what the county has to offer as far as industry.
The proposed data center would include a 130,000 square foot building on 89 acres in the Hope Industrial Park. It promises to create 25 jobs at $80,000 yr. But another thing Darling said he was unclear on is whether those jobs could be remote. The information states very low water use, estimated at 800 to 1,000 gallons per day, roughly comparable to a small office building. The cooling system is described as highly efficient, reusing water in a closed loop with no discharge. The project is expected to require 40 megawatts of electric service, confirmed by load studies, with all infrastructure upgrades funded by VINCO.
On air pollution concerns, the project information that Powell presented states that the facility would use modern emission control backup generators that meet EPA requirements, that data centers do not emit air pollutants during normal operations and that EPA clean air standards apply to all backup power equipment. For noise, the pamphlet says the project is intentionally located in Hope Industrial Park away from homes, and that the facility will use sound attenuated equipment and enclosed systems designed to keep noise levels low. Darling stressed that “it will have no effect on residential electricity rates.”
Powell did say this is a private company that will charge other companies to use the data center, so she stated, they do not know at this time “who the customer will be.”
Other business included the creation of a State Ad Valorem Tax which moved the city’s interest in the hospital to the county. “If we get a bond passed at the election, this is where the money goes. It’s just housekeeping so we can process the money through our accounting system,” JP Vic Ford said.