Fort Meade leaders approve data center proposal

Fort Meade city commissioners unanimously approved a proposal to bring a 4 million-square-foot data center to their city, despite significant opposition from local residents. The decision came after more than a year of discussions, with community members expressing outrage during the public meeting. Concerns raised by residents included the limited number of permanent jobs for locals, the risk of aquifer pollution from "forever chemicals," noise and vibration impacts, and the potential for the project to alter their rural way of life. The developer, Doug Furstenberg, attempted to address some of these concerns, stating that the facility's power needs would not raise rates from Duke Energy and that it would utilize a closed-loop system for water, requiring only 50,000 gallons per day, a fraction of other data centers. However, residents remained unconvinced, fearing the loss of their quiet evenings and fresh air. The approval by the city commission is not the final step, as the developer must still apply for a permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swift Mud) to use the 50,000 gallons of water daily required for cooling the servers.