Project Marvel

Current Status: ARA is working with our partners and the community members in Bessemer and McCalla to organize and demand answers. On August 19, the Bessemer City Council DELAYED voting to rezone to allow for the data center. The next vote will be November 18 at 9 am – Bessemer City Council meeting at City Hall (1700 3rd Avenue North in Bessemer) in the upstairs council chambers.

THIS WILL BE THE VOTE TO ALLOW FOR PROJECT MARVEL IN BESSEMER. Make plans now to be there and WEAR RED to show your opposition.

Bessemer Residents! Join us online for the weekly Bessemer Area Community Meetings Regarding Project Marvel. These online Zoom meetings will be led by the community and held each Thurday evening at 6:30 pm: October 30, November 6 and 13 before the next Bessemer City Council meeting on November 18. Click here to receive more information about these weekly Zooms.

NOVEMBER 16 – Join Bessemer residents at the Legacy YMCA on Sunday, November 16 from 2 – 4 pm for a special presentation about the proposed data center in Bessemer, and most importantly, learn what YOU can do to oppose it at the next Bessemer City Council meeting. Click here to learn more.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION ON PROJECT MARVEL. TELL BESSEMER CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR TO VOTE NO ON REZONING THAT WOULD ALLOW THIS HARMFUL DATA CENTER

 

What do we know about the proposed Bessemer Data Center branded as “Project Marvel”?

Not much, unfortunately! Like other data center developments popping up across the country, this project has been shrouded in secrecy. Signing non-disclosure agreements and refusing to share water consumption estimates with the public is an established part of the playbook for some of the big tech companies behind these huge projects. Thanks to some hard-working journalists, we are learning more about the natural resource impacts of this project.

1200 MW

The annual electric power consumption of the project when completed will be 1200 mw. Developers say that power will be provided by Alabama Power, which generates more than 2/3 of its electricity using dirty fossil fuels.

2 MILLION GALLONS

The daily water use requested by the developers from Warrior River Water Authority is estimated to be 2 million gallons a day (at least). It’s unclear whether this request covers just the first phase of development, or if it represents the total water use – per day. Other estimates for a 1200 MW data center indicate the average one could use more than 10 million gallons per day. 

700 ACRES

The area of forest that the City of Bessemer is considering rezoning for this project, which abuts dozens of homes in unincorporated Jefferson County, is 700 acres of land.

ONE LITTLE FISH

The newly discovered Birmingham darter (Etheostoma birminghamense) lives downstream from the proposed site.  Dr. Thomas Near of Yale University, who discovered this new species, says that soil disturbance associated with construction could doom the species to extinction. Its discovery is so recent that the fish has not had the time to go through the process that would give it protection under the Endangered Species Act.

TAKE ACTION!

ARA, along with many of our partners and residents of the Bessemer and McCalla areas, believe that there are simply too few facts and too many questions for this project to go forward in its current form. Stay tuned for next action steps!

WHAT’S UP NEXT

November 18 at 9 am – Bessemer City Council meeting at City Hall (1700 3rd Avenue North in Bessemer) in the upstairs council chambers. THIS WILL BE THE VOTE TO ALLOW FOR PROJECT MARVEL IN BESSEMER. Make plans now to be there and WEAR RED to show your opposition!

HYPERSCALED

Click below to watch the Southern Exposure Film HYPERSCALED, about Project Marvel.