Palm Beach county commissioners have voted 5-1 to deny an expansion for Project Tango, a proposed 600MW hyperscale datacenter. The decision followed over 12 hours of testimony from residents who raised concerns about potential noise, increased traffic, heat pollution, lower property values, and higher energy bills.
The proposed datacenter, located on a 202-acre parcel of land near the northern edge of the Florida Everglades, has drawn criticism from local environmentalists. They warn that the facility could damage the wetlands, which have received $6bn in restoration funding from federal and state governments.
A primary concern is that waste heat from the datacenter could increase water temperatures in the surrounding watershed, potentially exacerbating existing toxic bacterial blooms in Lake Okeechobee, which feeds into the Everglades. These blooms produce microcystin, a toxin that can contaminate drinking water and sicken people and animals. The Florida department of health in Palm Beach county issued a health alert on July 30 regarding cyanobacteria presence in the lake.
Reinaldo Diaz, founder of Lake Worth Waterkeeper, stated that even a few degrees increase in temperature could fuel bacterial blooms in nearby waterways connected to the Everglades and drinking water systems. An assessment commissioned by the applicant, PBA Holdings, Inc, acknowledges the datacenter could heat the air by 1C to 2C around cooling equipment, but dismisses concerns about heat reaching the community, citing prevailing winds.
Despite the denial of expansion, two further administrative applications from the developers, which could add square footage to the datacenter, remain under consideration.