Family slows proposed Tennessee data center project

An east Tennessee family said Friday they are asking Cleveland officials to delay action on a proposed data center project.Project River is a private 850-acre, $11.3 billion industrial campus located in Charleston, about 45 minutes east of Chattanooga. The Wright family is proposing a data center powered by a power plant that will use a combination of forest biomass and natural gas, according to information provided by the developers.
It will provide up to 1,500 megawatts of power and will only need electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority as a backup.
The tax benefits to the community are unprecedented and could fund schools, teacher salary increases and first responder increases, Lukas Salyer, a member of the Wright family and president of Wright Industrial Group, told The Center Square in an interview.
The Wright family was negotiating a planned unit development agreement with the city of Cleveland that would have mitigated noise, barred any direct connection to the Hiwassee River, and generated 90% of the data center’s water onsite. The family also agreed to fund a new fire and emergency medical services facility near the site.
Hundreds have shown up at community meetings, most opposing the project.
The Wright family said in a statement on Friday that nothing is more important to them than being a good neighbor.
“To that end, with the community’s best interest in mind, the Wright family has requested that the city of Cleveland temporarily delay further action on Project River until the Wright family can onboard a third-party team of technical experts to review every aspect of this project and address concerns raised through public engagement over the last few weeks,” the family said in the statement.
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting a response from the city.
Project River is not the first data center project halted in Tennessee.
In Nashville, a battle is ongoing between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, and Atlanta-based D.C. Blox, which is proposing a data center near the Nashville Zoo. The conflict has spilled over to the courts.
D.C. Blox is suing the government, saying Metro officials are refusing to process the company’s permits in what it calls in court documents a “targeted attack” that violates federal constitutional protections. The case is still pending.

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