Digital Realty proposes large data center in De Soto; faces opposition
Digital Realty is proposing a new 1,400-acre data center campus in De Soto, Kansas, near a 300-acre facility by Beale Infrastructure that recently broke ground. This new proposal faces strong local opposition due to concerns about water usage, noise, pollution, and strain on the power grid. City councils in Gardner and Edgerton recently rejected proposed data center moratoriums.
De Soto, Kansas, is poised to receive a second, significantly larger data center campus, with Texas-based Digital Realty introducing preliminary plans to develop over 1,400 acres at Astra Enterprise Park. This follows the recent groundbreaking of Beale Infrastructure's 300-acre data center site, located about two miles west of Digital Realty's proposed parcels. The new Digital Realty project, anticipated to cost $4 billion for its first phase, has not yet entered the formal application process, with the company still needing to submit a site plan to the De Soto Planning Commission.
The proposal, however, is encountering substantial opposition from De Soto residents who express concerns about water usage, noise pollution, environmental impact, and the strain on the power grid. During a June 4 De Soto City Council meeting, Digital Realty representatives, including Senior Vice President Rafal Rak and Head of Due Diligence Enrique Bellido, presented their plans, emphasizing transparency and sustainability efforts. Despite these assurances, residents like Jennifer Sharp and Toni Caldwell voiced strong disapproval, calling for an end to data center developments in the city.
This development is part of a broader trend in western and southern Johnson County, which has seen four data center proposals since March. Earlier applications in Spring Hill and Gardner were withdrawn, and one in Edgerton was denied. Furthermore, resident-backed pushes for six-month moratoriums on data center applications in Gardner and Edgerton were recently rejected by their respective city councils.