Ongoing public resistance towards a proposed data center in Delaware persists, with state and local authorities suggesting new regulations in response.

In a bid to regulate the construction of data centers, New Castle County Council has introduced an ordinance requiring a special use permit for new developments or expansions over 20,000 square feet. This ordinance, proposed by Councilman Carter, also sets a noise limit of 55 decibels to minimize the impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

The proposed data center, submitted by Starwood Digital Ventures and New Castle Campus Development LLC, is slated to be the first large-scale data center in Delaware. If fully utilized, it could consume the equivalent of about 8 million to 11 million megawatt hours per year, significantly adding to Delaware's current energy consumption of roughly 11.3 million megawatt hours a year.

Delaware, as it stands, already uses 70 times more energy than it produces, a fact highlighted in the state's energy profile. The state requires a certain amount of renewable energy in its power supply, but the PJM Interconnection regional grid, which services Delaware, is criticized for not moving fast enough to connect new renewable energy sources to the grid.

The ordinance also mandates a battery energy storage system, creates standards for noise, traffic, and water use, and prohibits data centers from being built less than 1,000 feet from any residential area. Furthermore, it suggests adding a requirement for data center applications to describe any plans for discharging water that has been used for cooling data centers and expanding the county's limitations on transportation emissions to include greenhouse gasses and other air pollutants.

However, the proposed data center has raised concerns among residents. They fear potential consequences to air, water, energy supply, and coastal areas. The Sierra Club of Delaware Chapter President Dustyn Thompson supports the noise limit in the rules Carter is proposing but opposes the data center project due to potential health issues from long-term exposure to low frequency noise.

A case in point is Beverly Morris in Mansfield, Georgia, who lives near a 2 million square foot data center and has experienced severe groundwater depletion, affecting her ability to flush toilets and drink water from her kitchen sink.

State Rep. Frank Burns has introduced legislation to establish a separate rate for large energy-use facilities to prevent offloading costs onto state ratepayers. Carter plans to take the comments he received from state agencies to draft a substitute ordinance for the New Castle County Planning Board to consider at its Oct. 7 meeting.

As the debate over the data center continues, it serves as a reminder of the need for careful consideration when it comes to balancing economic growth with environmental and community concerns.