A Prichard City Council effort to temporarily halt data center development in the city collapsed last week after officials learned that a formal application for such a project had already landed at City Hall. The surprise announcement forced council members to delay action and set the stage for a contentious public hearing later this month.
A Moratorium Interrupted
District 3 Council President Traci Hale had introduced an ordinance seeking a moratorium on new data center projects in Prichard, aiming to give the city time to study the potential impacts of large-scale computing facilities before any were approved. But just before the council was set to vote, City Attorney Moshae Donald told members that an official development application for a data center had just been submitted. Because of that filing, Donald explained, the council could no longer simply approve the pause — state and municipal procedure now require a public hearing before any moratorium ordinance can take effect. The council responded by scheduling that hearing for Thursday, Aug. 13.
Edged Energy’s Interest in Prichard
The timing of the application drew immediate attention because Edged Energy, a data center developer, has spent months courting Prichard as the potential site of a $93 million facility. City officials have not confirmed whether Edged is the company behind Thursday night’s filing, leaving residents and council members alike uncertain about exactly who is moving forward and how quickly. Data centers, which house the servers and computing equipment that power cloud services, streaming platforms and artificial intelligence tools, have become a sought-after but polarizing form of economic development for cities across Alabama and the country, prized for their tax revenue but scrutinized for their land use, noise, and heavy electricity and water demands.
Council Members Split Over the Project
District 5 Councilman Roy Smith II argued that the application’s submission effectively settled the debate over whether a data center would come to Prichard, regardless of what the council decides about a moratorium. Smith, who recently hosted a community meeting to share what he observed during a visit to one of Edged’s existing data centers in Atlanta, said the city stands to benefit from the business income tax revenue such a project would generate. He pushed back on residents who oppose the plan, saying some in the community have been swayed by inaccurate information about how data centers operate. “Why would I come and invest $93 million in a city in flux like this?” Smith asked, framing the investment as a vote of confidence in Prichard’s future.
Hale, who introduced the moratorium, said she brought the ordinance forward because a significant number of Prichard residents have told her they do not want a data center built in their community. She said she would not want such a facility near her own home either, and pointedly suggested Edged look elsewhere for a site. When Smith reminded her of the scale of investment the project represents, Hale replied that not all money is good money for a community to accept.
Residents Voice Opposition
Virginia Lockhart, who lives near the proposed data center site, urged the council to side with residents and stop the project altogether. She told council members that an online petition opposing the data center has drawn roughly 7,000 signatures, and said that includes an estimated 1,300 people in Prichard and 1,200 in neighboring Eight Mile who have indicated they would not support any council member who fails to oppose the development. Community concerns about data centers in other parts of the country have often centered on strain to local power grids, water usage for cooling systems, noise from industrial equipment, and questions about how many permanent local jobs the facilities ultimately create relative to their footprint and tax breaks.
What Happens Next
With the moratorium vote on hold, the council’s scheduled public hearing on Aug. 13 is expected to be the next major flashpoint in the debate. City leaders will need to weigh the pending development application, the economic case made by supporters like Smith, and the organized opposition represented by Lockhart and the thousands who signed the petition. For now, the question of whether Prichard will become home to a large-scale data center remains unresolved, hinging on both the outcome of the moratorium hearing and the fate of the application already sitting before the city.
Southal News will continue to follow developments ahead of the Aug. 13 hearing, including any confirmation of which company filed the pending application and how city leaders plan to proceed.