Project Marvel is a proposed $14.5 billion dollar data center that is to be built near the City of Bessemer, Alabama in the United States. Data centers run 24/7 and are needed for storing, managing and analyzing data. They are used to support a variety of needs including housing businesses’ IT infrastructure, powering cryptocurrency mining and, more recently, supporting the rapid influx of AI use. But these centers don’t come without a cost. They generate a loud, constant hum during operation, and they require large amounts of electricity and water resources for operation. Water is typically used as the primary method of cooling the machines in data centres.
Alabama Power is the state’s largest supplier of electricity, and if the proposed data center comes online it is expected that 10% of the supplier’s total output would go towards it. The projected annual energy consumption of the data center is 10.5 million megawatt hours, making its consumption 90 times greater than the energy used by the residences in Bessemer, and 10 times greater than the energy used by all the residences in Birmingham. This potential increased demand for energy is causing Alabama Power to increase their fossil fuel investments and purchase a gas-powered power plant, and it would cause an increase in the monthly rates for residential customers.
Alabama doesn’t have an emissions goal or a water plan. No water plan means that companies can pull as much groundwater as they want without having to get a permit. There is no regulated water withdrawal system, and no penalties for non-compliance. It is not currently known exactly how much water Project Marvel will require, and what strain it will have on resources, but it is possible that it could become the biggest water user in the state. Not only could it strain the capacity of water utilities, it could also destroy local ecosystems or contaminate groundwater. Residents who rely on well water would be directly at risk if this contamination were to occur. All residents may also be affected by increased water bills, and, based on examples in other other states, diminished water pressure.
The data center will be 4.5 million square feet in area, and will be built on a 700 acre plot of wooded land. It has been confirmed that at least 100 acres of this would need to be permanently clearcut to make space for the 18 buildings that will make up the center, each bigger than a Walmart Supercenter. Residents are concerned about how this data center will impact their lives, but they were met with silence when they tried to get their questions answered by public officials. The majority of local politicians, including the mayor, city attorney and people involved in economic development, all signed NDAs. This has been found to be a common occurrence surrounding the construction of data centers. Residents are upset that these NDAs were signed, and further frustrated that officials are using them as an excuse to not answer questions.
See this video for a brief overview of Project Marvel and how it is already affecting the community.