BESSEMER, Ala.—Residents living around the site of a proposed 4.5 million-square-foot data center campus have a new ally in their fight against what they say is an unwanted and unneeded development: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
In an open letter sent to Bessemer’s planning and zoning commission, representatives of the organization’s local, state and national offices expressed concerns about the proposal, called Project Marvel, and its implications for the surrounding community.
“On behalf of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Metro Birmingham Branch of the NAACP, and the NAACP Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, we are writing to oppose the construction of the Logistic Land Investments data center known as Project Marvel,” the letter said.
Bessemer’s residents are about 70 percent Black, according to census figures. Though the proposed data center site is technically within city limits, the community surrounding the project location is more mixed racially and economically, with both Black and white residents expressing their vocal opposition in multiple public meetings in recent months.
The letter argues that the data center “will harm the way of life, the environmental and financial interests of the people of Bessemer, the communities of Rock Mountain Lakes and Red Mountain Heights, and all citizens of Alabama.”
Residents have expressed worries around the environmental, health and economic impacts that may stem from construction of the data center campus, which is estimated to take between seven and 10 years, according to the developer, Logistic Land Investment, LLC.
If built to full capacity, the facility would consume as much as 1,200 megawatts of electricity every hour, 24 hours a day, according to estimates provided to residents. That amount of energy is equivalent to 10 times the usage of all residences in nearby Birmingham or around 90 times the usage of all residences in Bessemer.
Water usage, too, is a significant concern. Developers have written to a nearby utility for approval to use as much as 2 million gallons of water per day, a demand the utility said it wouldn’t be able to meet without “significant upgrades,” according to public documents.
City leaders, some of whom signed non-disclosure agreements with the project developer, have argued that the project would be a financial boon for Bessemer, providing needed jobs and tax revenue.
Residents, however, have pointed to a lack of transparency around the project as a reason for concern. Brad Kaaber, a representative of Logistic Land Investment, has said in public meetings that an environmental assessment has been conducted but has refused to provide it to residents or to Inside Climate News.
The development company did not respond to a request for comment on the NAACP’s letter.
In the letter, NAACP leaders wrote that energy demands from the data center and related backup generators would “contribute significantly to the current climate crisis and health issues” in Jefferson County.
The county is already the site of Alabama Power’s James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant, which for nearly a decade has earned the dubious distinction of being the nation’s largest greenhouse gas emitter.
Data for 2022 released by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that the Jefferson County plant emitted nearly 22 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollutants that year, including over 21 million tons of carbon dioxide, 62,000 CO2-equivalent metric tons of methane and 108,000 CO2-equivalent metric tons of nitrous oxide.
For comparison, Miller emits around 1.5 million more metric tons of carbon dioxide per year than the entire country of Guatemala, according to global data.
That reality puts residents in Bessemer and beyond in a vulnerable position, the NAACP argued in its letter, which cited Inside Climate News reporting on the project.
“…The state has a long history of rescinding civil rights regarding environmental protections that can help protect residents in places like Bessemer,” the letter said. “Siting a fossil-fuel
polluting and energy depleting data center in an already overburdened majority Black community is unfortunately on par for many environmentally unjust decisions that impact places like Bessemer.”
The NAACP letter calls for “full transparency” around the project and asks that the city produce copies of any non-disclosure agreements, disclose expected employment and tax impacts around the development, disclose anticipated energy and water usage, and “provide guarantees that no resident of Bessemer will suffer increased [utility] costs” because of Project Marvel.
City officials have not yet responded to requests for response to the letter.
The letter asks that city leaders oppose the project or, at a minimum, think more deeply about its impacts before moving forward.
“At the very least, the data center cannot be built without full analysis of these impacts, and full disclosure to the community of the risk and a true opportunity for community-centered decision making for next steps,” the letter said.
Other national organizations have already weighed in on the proposal, including the Center for Biological Diversity, which has said it is considering legal action over the project’s potential environmental impacts, including on the Birmingham darter, a newly discovered fish species scientists believe may be present on the proposed data center site.
Several statewide and regional organizations, including the Alabama Rivers Alliance and the Southern Environmental Law Center, have also fought for transparency around the project.
The Bessemer City Council is expected to consider the data center’s preliminary development plan and related rezoning request at an Oct. 7 meeting.
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Lee Hedgepeth
Reporter, Alabama
Lee Hedgepeth is Inside Climate News’ Alabama reporter. Raised in Grand Bay, Alabama, a small town on the Gulf Coast, Lee holds master’s degrees in community journalism and political development from the University of Alabama and Tulane University. Lee is the founder of Tread, a newsletter of Southern journalism, and has also worked for news outlets across Alabama, including CBS 42, Alabama Political Reporter and the Anniston Star. His reporting has focused on issues impacting members of marginalized groups, including homelessness, poverty, and the death penalty. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications across the country and has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.
