Nashville Zoo rejects deal that would have allowed data center near animal park

Nashville Zoo rejects deal that would have allowed data center near animal park Residents feared air pollution, water contamination and noise in latest pushback against AI data center boom - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments The Nashville Zoo has rejected a deal that would have allowed a new data center near the animal park. As the artificial intelligence boom continues, there have been new environmental concerns about data centers popping up in communities. The latest fight is between the Nashville Zoo, a 188-acre park just 6 miles south of downtown, and data center provider DC Blox. DC Blox wants to build a 69,200-square-foot data center next to the zoo with landscape buffers and concrete walls to separate the two areas. Amid backlash from locals, DC Blox proposed a memorandum of understanding with the Nashville Zoo that would have created the data center, but zoo officials declined, local media reported Thursday. The 69,200 square-foot structure included in the MOU is less than the size initially proposed, and DC Blox also offered to return some of the land it purchased back to the zoo for future development, reports said. “We will not turn out backs on the 563,000 members of this community and beyond who have supported us, nor the 3,000 animals entrusted to our care,” Nashville Zoo CEO Rick Schwartz said in a statement. “We stand by what we've said from the beginning: a data center this close to vulnerable species, schools, and neighboring communities has not been proven safe,” he said. Locals who oppose the data center warned of air pollution, water contamination and noise. “We’re worried about noise. We’re worried about what it’s going to do to the zoo. The list just keeps going and going and going, so it’s hard to pick like one thing that we’re worried about,” resident Drew Small told WKRN last month. “It’s all of it — it’s our creeks, it’s our breathing air, it’s our drinking water, it’s our electricity.” Resident Will Thomsen told WTVF, “I'm worried now that I have to watch the quality of our water because of the effects that data centers have on water. “I’m worried about their noise,” he said. I’m worried about the impact on my neighbors and the animals at the zoo.” DC Blox writes on its website that they will commit to a sound level no greater than 65 dB(A) at the property line, which it says is “within the general range of ambient sound levels in the area.” "DC Blox remains committed to finding a mutually beneficial outcome for this project,” a company spokesperson said in a statement shared by WTVF. “Along with considering the size and scope, the project will include design elements such as sound mitigation, buffers and barriers so there is not an impact on the zoo or local neighbors.” The Independent has reached out to DC Blox and the Nashville Zoo for comment. The pushback from Nashville residents came as President Donald Trump called on governors and electricity companies to join a pledge Thursday to protect Americans from higher utility bills created by data centers. “You have to convince your community,” Trump said at the Environmental Protection Agency. “You can’t fight it. You have to go with it.” The president’s remarks follow an executive order from New York Governor Kathy Hochul that temporarily pauses large-scale data center development, the first action of its kind in the country. There are 1,215 operating data centers and 1,725 projects in the works across the country, according to data center development tracking firm Cleanview. Seven in 10 Americans oppose building data centers for AI near their homes, according to a Gallup poll conducted in March. DC Blox notes on its website that the Nashville data center would “not be an AI factory placing a burden on local resources.” “It is designed to support local data network infrastructure to ensure Nashville is prepared to handle the rapidly increasing digital traffic in the region,” the company said. In nearby Mississippi, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit to defend the construction of 57 gas turbines powering data centers that support Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence platform Grok. The Justice Department said the data center is vital for “national security” in response to a lawsuit claiming that the turbines illegally threaten Black communities. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] OER CENTEP NO DATA CENTER