Data centers face resistance in New England towns
Residents in Nottingham, New Hampshire, mounted strong opposition to a proposed data center conversion, prompting the developer to withdraw its initial plan. The town later approved a one-year moratorium on data center construction, while residents in nearby Bow are opposing a potential 350-megawatt project at the former Merrimack Station power plant.
Tom Moulton’s Nottingham Business Park, LLC withdrew an initial proposal to convert a vacant 200,000-square-foot warehouse in Nottingham, New Hampshire, into a data center after residents organized against the idea. More than 25,000 people signed a petition, and hundreds planned to speak at a public meeting, citing concerns about water degradation, ecological damage, noise and higher energy costs. Nottingham voters subsequently approved a one-year moratorium on data center construction while the town considers permanent zoning changes.
A separate debate is unfolding in Bow, where Eversource planned a feasibility study for a potential 350-megawatt data center at the former Merrimack Station site, owned by Granite Shore Power. Bow Select Board Chair Kip McDaniel allowed public comment after residents protested, despite the absence of a formal application, while opponents including nearby residents questioned the project’s effects on water, property values, quality of life and communities beyond Bow.