NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Nassau County will soon consider putting a one-year pause on any proposals to build data centers in the county.
It comes after Nassau residents like John Beam were caught off guard earlier this month when a company called NextNRG had suggested 400 acres of land on a parcel it was leasing would be well-suited for a data center.
“They eat up property. They eat up energy. They eat up a lot of water to cool,” Beam said. ”If you’re living by one, you know I mean, I wouldn’t think that would be too good for property values either.”
The company has since walked back its initial suggestion, now saying it does not have “any plans to build a data center in this community at this time”.
Nassau County Commission Chair Alyson McCullough (R-District 4) argued even though no permit applications have been filed to build a data center, the commission wants to ensure it’s ready in the event that ever changes.
“These discussions have become very real and relative to all 67 jurisdictions in Florida,” McCullough said.
Legislation is now being drafted that would pause any data center applications in Nassau for at least a year.
McCullough said the idea is to give the county time to come up with a regulatory framework around data center development, if it’s ever to be allowed in the county at all.
“Any large-scale development of any type is going to have implications. They could be positive or negative, but any governing authority wants to regulate and control what that looks like,” McCullough said.
Is it legal, though?
It’s unclear.
The Governor had asked the state legislature to pass a bill allowing counties to flat-out ban data centers, but no such provision made it into the final product that’s currently awaiting his signature.
McCullough noted other states have implemented moratoriums, but Nassau is likely the first county to try it here in Florida.
Residents like Beam are hopeful the plan works.
“Maybe a year is not even enough!” Beam said.
A draft of the data center pause bill is set to be released on April 27.
If all goes according to plan, it will come up for a final vote on June 8.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
