'Who's going to pay?': Taylor County confronts data center boom
Taylor County residents are urging officials to impose strong protections as the county develops regulations for potential large-scale data centers. Concerns include electricity costs, groundwater use, noise, environmental impacts, backup power and development on farmland, while supporters say the projects could bring jobs and investment.
Taylor County officials and consultants held a public workshop in Perry on potential regulations for large data centers. Residents called for limits on groundwater consumption, closed-loop cooling, noise and lighting controls, setbacks from homes and schools, restrictions on on-site power generation, and financial guarantees against cleanup costs for abandoned facilities. They also questioned whether data centers could raise utility costs or receive priority for power restoration after hurricanes.
North Florida Professional Services, which is drafting the regulations, said the county should balance community safeguards with the need to attract investment and jobs after the closure of the Georgia-Pacific Foley cellulose mill. Consultants are expected to present residents' concerns to county commissioners, develop proposed rules and hold additional workshops before any regulations are adopted. The Florida Public Service Commission's rejection of a Duke Energy rate proposal was also discussed as an example of concerns about protecting residential customers.