Will the Dickerson data center project impact MoCo’s environment?

A proposed 110-acre data center campus by California-based Atmosphere Data Centers in Dickerson, Montgomery County, Maryland, is drawing significant scrutiny from environmental activists and local officials. The project, located on a 700-acre parcel on Martinsburg Road owned by Florida-based Terra Energy, is planned for the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant. Montgomery County Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe, whose District 2 includes the area, has been involved in discussions with civic and environmental groups regarding the project. Local officials and environmentalists, including Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Angie McCarthy of Marylanders for Data Center Reform/Nature Forward, are sounding alarms over the potential environmental and climate impacts. They advocate for the data center campus to operate entirely on renewable clean energy, noting Atmosphere's current plans to rely on the regional power grid and diesel generators for backup power, which Tidwell estimates could emit 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Another key concern, raised by Caroline Taylor of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, is the project's water usage. Atmosphere plans to draw an average of 69,300 gallons of water daily from the Potomac River for cooling, with a maximum allowance of 500,000 gallons. The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin has also released a study highlighting the potential strain of data center growth on regional water supplies. Experts recommend greater transparency from data center developers regarding their water consumption. During a recent rally, County Councilmembers Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, and Will Jawando expressed support for clean energy goals. Glass, whose bill to create a data center task force failed, emphasized the need for a pause on data center development in Montgomery County to ensure proper regulations are in place, drawing comparisons to the high concentration of data centers in Loudoun County, Virginia.