New Data Center Regs Proposed for Birmingham

The Birmingham City Council reviewed a draft plan to regulate data centers on Tuesday but unanimously voted to postpone adopting the new rules until early June to allow more time for study and deliberation. The proposed regulations, developed by the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability and the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits, aim to define various data center tiers and address concerns regarding energy and water consumption, noise, and other potential environmental impacts. Since March 3, a moratorium has been in place, halting new data center applications while the city developed these rules. The draft regulations include 19 conditions for hyperscale data centers, such as requiring closed-loop cooling systems, restricting the discharge of stormwater into municipal systems, and limiting backup power generation to emergencies. Onsite power generation (excluding solar) would be prohibited, and minimum property sizes and setback distances from residential areas (500 feet) are proposed. Business leaders, including Trevor Sutton of the Birmingham Business Alliance, expressed concerns that the stringent regulations could deter economic investment. Conversely, environmental groups like the Alabama River Alliance and the Southern Environmental Law Center lauded the proposed ordinance, with Charles Miller and Ryan Anderson calling it a model for other cities. Mayor Randall Woodfin noted that Birmingham is one of the few cities to enact a moratorium and is being watched nationally. Existing projects, such as those from BHM01 and DC Blox, which submitted applications before the moratorium, will not be subject to the new rules once they are approved.