AI data center projects have become astonishingly unpopular. Their opposition has garnered strong bipartisan support, quickly turning the facilities into a hot button political issue for the upcoming midterm elections in the US.
And it’s not just residents in rural America trying to keep out facilities, which have been linked to rising electricity prices, water issues, and copious amounts of noise. The Nashville Zoo in Tennessee has turned into the latest battleground, with officials arguing that a proposed 69,000-square-foot data center next door could be devastating to animals living in captivity a mere 50 yards away.
As NBC News reports, Southeast Asian clouded leopards, which the zoo is breeding, could be particularly vulnerable. Zookeepers are concerned that the cacophony could stop the creatures from reproducing entirely.
The species is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the US. They’ve also proved difficult to breed in captivity and are “sensitive to auditory and visual disturbances,” according to the zoo’s website.
“We are vehemently opposed to having a data center so close to animals,” Nashville Zoo president and CEO Rick Schwartz told NBC.
A petition against the data center has already amassed over 180,000 signatures, highlighting widespread opposition to the plan. Courtney Johnston, a local council member whose district encompasses the zoo, has already indicated she will be pushing for a vote on a data center moratorium during a Tuesday meeting.
“I’m getting phone calls,” she told NBC. “I’m getting emails. All of my social media. Text messages. The community is speaking.”
Nashville mayor Freddie O’Connell has also told reporters that “we have a lot of concerns about the project and have our legal department looking into it.”
A similar story is playing out at countless council sessions across the nation, with angry residents piling into the chambers to voice their concerns.
Beyond concerns about noise pollution, the carbon footprint of these sprawling facilities could grow to staggering proportions, making the zoo’s worries over animal conservation particularly ironic. According to a new report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, AI data centers could consume as much water as the water needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030.
Meanwhile, DC BLOX, the firm behind the proposed Tennessee data center, has promised to maintain and test “noise levels to measurable and acceptable levels and adhering to all federal and local environmental requirements.”
It also promised to use a “closed-loop or waterless cooling designs to minimize ongoing water use.”
But given the strong backlash, the company may already be facing an extremely steep uphill battle to win over support for its plans.
More on data centers: Data Centers Have Become Shockingly Unpopular, Poll Finds
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