Data Center Text Amendment Has Consequences
One 100MW Data Center Uses the Energy Equivalent of 25,000 Houses
The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners are taking up a text amendment to its Zoning Ordinance at its October 16, 2023 meeting that would permit data centers by-right in the County’s Industrial Zone. This is a significant change with considerable impact to the County if appropriate safeguards are not put in place. Just four 100 MW data centers would use more electricity than the 98,000 households in Brunswick County.
The Board of Commissioners do not publish their agenda until the Friday before the meeting. As such, you can email Commissioner Frank Williams who represents the area that includes Leland here: commissioner.williams@brunswickcountync.gov.
Below is my testimony that I emailed to the Commissioners.
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Dear Honorable Members of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, my name is Robert Lazaro and I am a homeowner in Brunswick Forest in Leland. I appreciate having the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on the proposal approved by the Planning Board that would allow data centers by-right in the Industrial zoning category.
First and foremost let me say that I appreciate your service to our community. I had the honor of serving as Mayor and a Town Council Member in Purcellville, Virginia for ten years, on the Town Planning Commission and have worked in local government for the vast majority of my career. I understand the commitment you all are making to ensure a bright and prosperous future for our county.
Let me share some observations regarding the proposed text amendment and also some suggestions as to next steps forward. While the text amendment is innocuous at best, the impact on our County and the community may be more impactful without the proper planning and safeguards in place.
On the face of it one would assume that something like a data center is a clean industry, but what is not considered in the mix of this equation is the fact they are enormous consumers of electricity, have an impact on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, high voltage transmission and substation siting.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Data centers are one of the most energy-intensive building types, consuming 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office building.” With that said, siting of data centers needs to take into consideration the ability not only to bring power to the center, but the need for redundant power.
Data centers cannot be off-line for a nanosecond. As such, data centers rely on diesel generators that must be tested at least once each month.
The key pollutants of concern from diesel generators usually are:
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
- Particles up to 10 µm and 2.5 µm in diameter, which remain suspended in the air for long periods and are small enough to be breathed in (known as PM10 and PM2.5 respectively)
- Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Benzene (C6H6)
Please allow me to share with you an article from the Virginia Mercury about the circumstances facing communities in Northern Virginia regarding the use of diesel generators.
Additionally, please see what is happening in Culpeper County, Virginia with respect to the growth of electricity and transmission needs in that community as the result of data center locations.
According to a Dominion Energy representative at a recent community meeting, “Data center customers typically consume 60 to 90 megawatts of power or greater…. A single megawatt can power 250 homes…”. Thus a 100 MW data center uses the energy of what 25,000 homes would utilize.
Consider the following from HDR which is a global engineering firm:
“A typical data center can range from 100–300 megawatts in electrical demand. To look at the power configuration of a typical data center, consider a 100-megawatt data center.
A 100-megawatt load likely requires a substation, preferably with two independent utility feeds to meet expected reliability and resiliency. The substation generally includes transformation to medium voltage, and distribution switchgear supplies power across the data center campus to many separate 480-volt load centers. Each load center typically feeds a load of about 3 megawatts, supporting a combination of information technology, HVAC, network systems and the central utility plant.
Nearly all data centers are considered mission-critical, so backup power is provided to most or all of the facility. Backup power is provided with Tier 2 emergency diesel generators sized to match the capacity of the 480-volt load centers located around the facility.”
Further the mix of energy used by Duke Energy to create electricity is heavily weighted towards fossil fuels (51%). According to their web site their service territory in eastern Northern Carolina is configured as such: “For comparison, the current average mix of resources supplying the Duke Energy North Carolina customers includes: Gas (34%), Nuclear (22%), Coal (17%), Hydro (3%), Renewables (10%), Energy Storage and Energy Efficiency (8%) and Other (6%) [Duke Energy 2021 data].”
While I understand that set back standards have been put in place in the IG zoning category, what is not addressed are design standards and/or sustainability standards with respect to the data center buildings and operations.
I recognize that in today’s world the need for data centers is ever expanding and with the onslaught of AI related products, the digital economy, etc. the need for them will be ever present. I believe, however, that the proposed Text Amendment is inconsistent with Section Three of Blueprint Brunswick which states: ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION GOAL: Brunswick County and its participating municipalities will ensure that the use of land and resources minimize direct and secondary environmental impacts while avoiding risks to public health, safety, and welfare.
Data centers can be a good neighbor in Brunswick County, but I would like to make the following suggestions as to steps forward before taking action. And, if the Board feels that action must be taken immediately it should do so that data centers are not permitted by-right, but with a special use permit.
Let me share with you some recommendations:
- Create a workgroup with appropriate County, State, utility and other stakeholders to fully examine the issues raised above and others so as to ensure that when a data center is located in the community that it truly is a good neighbor.
- Convene a meeting with power providers (both gas and electric) to share with them what areas are planned for data centers so they fully have an understanding of their future power and transmission needs. This will give them the ability to inform the County and its citizens what transmission and substation needs would be required to serve the proposed data centers.
- Examine best practices as to design and operations to ensure that the data centers that do locate in our County are shining examples of what can be done to limit their impact on the community. While the County has existing IG zoning in place, one must look to the future with respect to requests for re-zonings and the impact a data center could have on neighbors, etc. It is not onerous for the County to require a data center to meet a LEED Silver or Gold Standard.
Let me conclude by saying I am not opposed to data centers. I believe they are more than necessary, but at the same time before the County opens its zoning to this use, it needs to take the time to examine the impacts prior to making this text amendment to its zoning ordinance.
Thank you for your kind consideration and for your service to our community.
