Proposed data centers could face 'stricter' code in Palm Coast
Palm Coast officials are developing a plan to classify future data centers based on their potential impact, creating thresholds for water usage, power consumption, and noise. This initiative responds to ongoing resident concerns about data centers, though officials assert the current DC BLOX cable landing station project will not strain local utilities.
Palm Coast officials are actively working on an amendment to the city's Land Development Code to categorize future data center projects as either "high-impact" or "low-impact." This new framework will establish specific thresholds for water usage, power consumption, and noise generation.
Projects deemed "high-impact" would necessitate a "special exception" approval from the City Council, while "low-impact" projects might qualify for by-right use. Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri has suggested a temporary halt on considering new data center projects until these code updates, which could take five to six months, are finalized.
The city's initiative comes in response to resident concerns about data center impacts, despite officials clarifying that the ongoing cable landing station and data center campus project by DC BLOX, which will anchor Google's new transatlantic fiber optic cable system "Sol," is not a large-scale data center. Officials maintain that the DC BLOX facility, featuring a closed-loop water-cooling system and consuming 10 megawatts of electricity, will not strain local utilities, impact rates, or require new power infrastructure.