Marietta data center approved despite pushback
The Marietta City Council approved an 18-megawatt data center project despite public pushback and a 5-2 vote. The approval comes with conditions, including the installation of silencers and not using the city's municipal water supply. This specific project was exempt from a recent six-month moratorium on new data center applications in Marietta.
The Marietta City Council has approved a controversial 18-megawatt data center project after hours of debate, despite significant community opposition. The vote was 5 to 2 in favor of the rezoning application.
The approval comes with several conditions for the developers, including the requirement to install silencers to mitigate noise pollution and to conduct independent testing. Furthermore, the data center must not utilize the city's municipal water or wastewater supply, addressing resident concerns about potential impacts on water bills and resources. The property owner emphasized that the facility would not increase water consumption and would include measures to minimize noise.
The project, located near I-75 and Delk Road, involves converting part of a self-storage property into the data center. While some council members and residents voiced concerns about the lack of positive community impact and the extraction of wealth, others argued it would position Marietta as a leading tech city. The property owner clarified that the facility is for processing information and is unrelated to artificial intelligence.
Notably, this project was deemed exempt from a six-month temporary moratorium on new data center applications that the Marietta City Council approved just last month, as it had already been in the works prior to the moratorium's enactment.