Amid growing bans, tiny Beacon Falls sees data center as way to put it 'on the map'
Beacon Falls officials are exploring a plan for a 100-megawatt "green-powered" data center on Lopus Road, developed by The Agency and designed by O&G Industries. This development comes as several other Connecticut towns have enacted moratoriums on data centers, suggesting the project could be controversial. The new design has not yet been presented for town board approval.
Beacon Falls, Connecticut, a town of 6,000 residents, is considering a proposal for a 100-megawatt "green-powered" data center, aiming to boost its profile amidst a trend of data center bans in other Connecticut towns. New York-based developer The Agency is marketing a 44-acre parcel on Lopus Road for a 294,000 square-foot facility, designed by Torrington-based O&G Industries, intended for AI and cloud computing workloads.
This marks the second attempt to develop the site for a data center, following a smaller 32-megawatt plan in 2021-2022 that never progressed. While the new design has not yet been presented to town boards for approval, its potential for controversy is highlighted by the fact that three other Connecticut municipalities have already enacted data center moratoriums.