A public forum on the potential impacts of proposed data center development in Hale and Marengo counties will be held Thursday, July 30, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Wallace Community College lecture hall at the Demopolis SportsPlex, 186 Field of Dreams Drive, Gallion.
The forum, “What the Community Should Know About Data Centers,” will be facilitated by Katherine Eddins, a conservation attorney and Gallion resident.
The meeting is open to the public.
According to Eddins, data center aggregators are eyeing the Demopolis area for a series of hyperscale data centers. While no deal has been finalized, she said, aggregators are optioning land along and around the transmission line that runs from Alabama Power on the river in Greene County through Demopolis, Linden and beyond.
Featured speakers include Gerald Pouncey Jr., an environmental attorney who will address data center best practices; Katherine Moore, president of the Georgia Conservancy, on planning and policy; Danny Johnson of the Atlanta Regional Commission, on water policy; and Jeff Berry, who will speak on tech infrastructure and rural and environmental impacts.
The agenda includes presentations from the speakers, discussion of environmental and infrastructure considerations, and time reserved for community questions.
