Calvert County Receives AWS Data Center Site Plan
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has filed a concept site plan for the Calvert Technology Center, an eight-building data center project totaling 2.46 million square feet in Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland. The project is currently undergoing review by county departments and involves extensive environmental considerations. This filing comes amid ongoing local debate, with residents raising environmental concerns and two proposed data center moratoriums having failed.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has initiated the development process for a substantial data center project, the "Calvert Technology Center," by submitting a concept site plan application. The proposed facility, located at 1650 Calvert Cliffs Parkway in Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland, is planned to feature eight data center buildings, alongside office, utility, and security structures, totaling approximately 2.464 million square feet across three independent campuses. The development is situated on two parcels of land, collectively spanning 2,050 acres, owned by Constellation Energy Group near the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and are zoned I-2 Heavy Industrial.
The application, filed on May 4, has proceeded through the payment of initial application and environmental health fees, and is now undergoing review by various Calvert County departments and other agencies. Comprehensive plans for stormwater management, developed by Langan Engineering, address the site's challenging terrain, including extensive nontidal wetlands and stream valleys. These plans propose several detention ponds and bioretention facilities to meet environmental standards set by Calvert County and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
This development unfolds amidst significant local contention regarding data center expansion in Calvert County. Residents have voiced concerns over potential environmental and infrastructural impacts. The Board of County Commissioners has actively engaged in discussions, though attempts by Commissioners Mike Hart and Catherine Grasso to impose a temporary moratorium on data center development were unsuccessful. Furthermore, the board voted on May 5 to ensure that new data centers comply with updated text amendments from the construction start, preventing projects from being grandfathered under older regulations. While the county's Department of Planning and Zoning has publicly notified residents for transparency, construction permits have not yet been issued, and the current concept review does not imply final approval.