- Nashville Zoo launches petition against nearby data center project
- 375,000 people sign protest petition, local officials and politicians speak out
- Officials are concerned the data center could impact animal welfare, conservation and visitors.
The Nashville Zoo has become the latest high-profile opponent of U.S. data center plans after several cities and states imposed temporary restrictions on new construction.
The zoo started 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 animal welfare and conservation concerns
The Nashville Zoo is concerned 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 at the facility.
Looking ahead, the zoo is also concerned that the data center project could put an end to its plans to create a breeding center for the okapi.
“No one has shared any studies or environmental impact assessments,” the zoo wrote online, referring to “growing concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of data centers nationwide.”
Metro Nashville City Council member Courtney Johnston promised to “get everything done as quickly as possible.” [her] power, legislatively and otherwise, to prevent this development next to our beloved zoo,” including by filing a moratorium.
Johnston noted that while current plans include a single-story, 10-MW facility, expansion plans call for a three-story, 40-MW upgrade, a “dedicated substation, separate generator yards for each data center, stormwater ponds, guardhouse, internal access roads” and more.
Americans fear the law won’t protect them
CEO Rick Schwartz also noted that the zoo had spent years discussing purchasing the same parcel of neighboring land, 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 allow tens and tens of thousands of children to benefit from 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 determines how to legislate and regulate these projects.
However, “No New Data Centers,” a website created in response to Nashville’s plans, warns that a Texas county was forced to abandon its moratorium days after a developer filed a lawsuit. Separately, a county in North Carolina is in court over similar issues, so Nashville and other parts of the United States may also prove ineffective at 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 specific purpose of this site would be.
TechRadar Pro requested comment, but we did not receive an immediate response.
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