Proposed Tennessee Data Centers Draw Continued Citizen Pushback, Cities Considering Limiting Construction
A proposed DC Blox data center near the Nashville Zoo has ignited significant community and official pushback, prompting the Metro Nashville City Council to consider an ordinance for stricter data center regulations. Simultaneously, Cedar Hill enacted a two-year moratorium on new data center construction, and McMinnville is deliberating a similar pause due to local concerns over environmental and infrastructure impacts.
A proposed DC Blox data center project next to the Nashville Zoo in Davidson County, Tennessee, has generated intense opposition from residents and the Nashville Zoo itself, prompting the Metro Nashville City Council to consider a new ordinance. The Georgia-based DC Blox has filed permit applications to build a 69,220 square foot facility on 23.5 acres, requiring the demolition of existing office buildings.
Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston expressed serious concerns about the development's appropriateness near the zoo and residential areas, supporting the proposed ordinance that would ban large data centers within a half-mile of homes, schools, churches, and zoos. This ordinance also mandates an approval process and adherence to rules on water usage, emissions, power generation, and noise. The Nashville Zoo has declared its "vehement opposition" to the project.
Other Tennessee cities are also taking action. Cedar Hill's City Council, led by Mayor John Edwards, has enacted a two-year moratorium on data center and cryptocurrency mine construction to allow time for further regulation and observation of legal challenges to bans in other cities. McMinnville is considering its own 12-month moratorium following plans for a 25-megawatt AI supercomputing facility, with over 2,600 residents signing a petition in opposition.
Governor Bill Lee recently signed legislation requiring data centers with a peak electric demand of at least 50 megawatts to pay for their own infrastructure, but concerns remain that smaller facilities, like the one proposed in McMinnville, may avoid these requirements, potentially leaving ratepayers vulnerable to increased electricity costs.