Defense AI data center eyeing Escambia. FloridaWest says nothing to fear
FloridaWest is in early discussions with an unnamed defense AI data center about a smaller project in northern Escambia County, Florida. This has sparked significant community opposition due to concerns over transparency, environmental impact, power, and water demands. Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves has stated data centers are not a priority for the city, and a recently signed state bill (SB 484) aims to protect against hyperscale data center impacts.
FloridaWest, the economic development organization for Escambia County, Florida, has confirmed it is in early-stage, non-active discussions with a smaller, unnamed defense AI data center considering property in the unpopulated northern part of the county. Executive Director Chris Platé clarified that there are no active negotiations and assured residents the county is not pursuing a 'mega-sized' data center, lacking the infrastructure to support such a facility.
Despite these assurances, the prospect of any data center has ignited community opposition. Sarah Setta, an administrator for the newly formed Facebook group "Escambia County Residents say No to Data Centers," highlights concerns about transparency, potential negative impacts on the environment (noise, pollution, power, water), and job creation. The group, with 161 members, gathered 2,600 petition signatures in four days and is planning protests, including one on June 11th in Pensacola and another ahead of a county commissioner meeting on June 17th.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves publicly stated that data centers are not an economic development priority for the city due to environmental concerns and unknown impacts. Meanwhile, a recently signed state bill, SB 484, by Gov. Ron DeSantis, aims to protect ratepayers and the environment from hyperscale data centers, creating significant hurdles for their establishment in Florida. Experts like Guillermo Francia III of the University of West Florida support smaller data centers but agree the region's power capacity (36 megawatts for Florida Power and Light in Northwest Florida) is insufficient for hyperscale facilities, which require 50 to 150 megawatts.