Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox says he sees no reason to turn away an AI data center, so long as the city’s concerns about power, water and neighborhood impact are addressed first.
“I think so,” Maddox said when asked whether Tuscaloosa would welcome an artificial intelligence data center during an appearance on “The Steve & DC Morning Show” on 95.3 The Bear. “I think the points that have been made about data centers that have been built in other places across the country are well founded.”
Maddox acknowledged concerns that the large facilities could consume significant amounts of electricity and increase utility costs for surrounding customers.
He pointed to Senate Bill 270, legislation passed earlier this year.
The law, which takes effect October 1, requires the Alabama Public Service Commission to determine that electricity contracts for data centers using at least 150 megawatts recover the additional costs created by the project from the data center itself. The contracts must also promote benefits for other utility customers.
Maddox also argued Tuscaloosa is better positioned than communities in water-scarce parts of the country to handle the water demands associated with some data center facilities.
“Here in Alabama, water is not scarce,” he said. “In Tuscaloosa, it could not rain for eight years, and we could still have water to supply.”
Still, Maddox said any proposal would require careful review of its location and infrastructure demands.
“Are you building it in a place that’s not going to disrupt neighborhoods?” he asked. “Are we going to make certain that your power usage is not going to take away from future power usage? What’s going to be your water loads and things of that nature?”
“If all those boxes are checked, I don’t know why we wouldn’t want one,” he added.
Maddox’s strongest caution involved the long-term reliability of the tax revenue and economic benefits generated by data centers.
He predicted the industry could evolve significantly over the next two decades, including the possible development of data centers in orbit, where companies could take advantage of power and cooling conditions in space.
“I don’t think they’re going to be here long term,” Maddox said. “If you were to get a data center, and I see these other communities talking about these outrageous revenue numbers, I wouldn’t get used to them.”
Maddox said Tuscaloosa should treat any major revenue generated by a data center as a temporary opportunity rather than using it to support recurring government expenses.
“You use it to pay down debt or do capital,” he said. “You certainly don’t roll it into your operations because it won’t be there forever.”
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected]
