Palm Beach Counties data center project.

So while researching about the Massive amount of money Palm Beach County had invested in Israel I saw an article pop up about a data center that had been proposed to be built in the county. Of course it immediately got confusing, I started to feel like I was looking more into the affects of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and backroom deals made at the local level. Now I should say, I didn’t find any confirmed evidence of corruption. I am not a super sleuth smelling the electron trail to the scene of the digital crime. It just feels like something is there, there are all the signals of there being more to it. Somehow the right people, are there at the right time, and those that could oppose them don’t. The county residents are against whats going on, they ask their reps to vote against it, but they don’t? And its not like this particular data center is special, this is happening all across the country. Businesses building things that the neighbors don’t want, counties and cities using eminent domain to take what people won’t give. Calls for more regulation by the same people that voted against it. Well I am not the type to ask who you voted for before I have sympathy for you. I know as well as anyone with their eyes open they have spent billions of dollars, if not more, to convince the working class man of that which is not. Furthermore to make them think his neighbor is more his enemy than his political captor. Anyway let’s look at what I found before I have to go play some video games with the boys.

Project Tango involves more than a single project applicant. Property records, corporate filings, meeting materials, and related infrastructure projects reveal a network of landowners, contractors, consultants, attorneys, and public officials connected to the project. Many of the same names also appear in other major Palm Beach County development and infrastructure efforts. The following sections examine those connections and the role each party has played.

Images from https://stoptango.com/

What is a Hyperscale Campus

What A Hyperscale Campus Means

A hyperscale data center campus is not a normal office project. It is usually a large industrial site built around server halls, cooling systems, substations, backup generators, topped off with security fencing, heavy utility infrastructure and a shit load of smog. These facilities will run all day, every day, and the impacts will go miles past the property line. The main issues are power demand, water use for cooling, constant deafening equipment noise, diesel generator testing, air pollution, and the pressure placed on local utilities. And can you imagine your property value with one of these next door?

The health concerns are tied mostly to what supports the data center, not the computers themselves. Diesel backup generators can release fine particles and nitrogen oxides, which are linked to asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory risks. Cooling systems and generators can also create noise that nearby residents and schools may hear during normal operation or testing. Before approval, the county should require clear public numbers for projected power demand, water demand, generator count, generator testing schedule, emissions, noise levels, and emergency operations. And then after they look at them, they should just say fuck no since its right next to where people live!

Power Demand Water Use Air Quality Noise Jobs & Benefits

Power Demand

Modern hyperscale data centers are among the largest electricity users in the country. The U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reported that data centers used about 4.4% of all U.S. electricity in 2023 and could reach between 6.7% and 12% by 2028.