Are more data centers coming to North Alabama? What local leaders are saying

Few development issues are currently as hotly debated as data centers. In North Alabama, questions are intensifying as Huntsville and surrounding communities continue expanding both residentially and commercially.

A Gallup poll conducted in March of this year states that 70 percent of Americans are either somewhat or strongly opposed to data center construction in their local area. 

In Madison County, Alabama, state Sen. Sam Givhan said a recent poll he conducted found that 55 percent of respondents in his district opposed additional data center development.

The Huntsville Business Journal spoke with elected officials, residents, and utility representatives about the current and future roles of data centers in North Alabama. 

Data centers in North Alabama

North Alabama is home to two hyperscale data centers built by Meta and Google. 

Meta’s campus is in north Huntsville near Toney. The company is contracted with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for its electricity needs and is a Huntsville Utilities water customer. 

In June 2022, Meta announced plans to add two buildings, bringing the campus to nearly 3.5 million square feet.

Google’s hyperscale data center is in Jackson County in the Bridgeport area near the Tennessee state line. Located at the former TVA Widows Creek coal plant property, the facility also receives electricity through the TVA system. 

In June, Google announced it plans to expand this location by $1.5 billion in 2026 and 2027.

At the time of publication, the Huntsville Business Journal was unable to confirm Google’s water source. 

Smaller data centers in the region include facilities operated by Simple Helix, DC BLOX, and Scipio Technologies.

In Huntsville, Huntsville Utilities Director of External Affairs Joe Gehrdes compared Meta’s water usage with that of another common type of commercial customer. 

“They use about as much as a big retailer might use,” Gehrdes said.

Gehrdes said Meta pays according to the applicable customer classification.

“They are a water customer, but they’re like any other water customer in their rate class. They do not consume massive quantities of water,” Gehrdes explained. 

The long-term picture remains difficult to predict because data center equipment and cooling methods keep evolving.

Gehrdes said he recently attended a presentation about data centers where the speaker said technology is changing so rapidly his presentation will be outdated in 30 days.

TVA aims to protect customers

As data center demand increases, TVA is taking steps to prevent the cost of serving data centers from being shifted to residential customers and other businesses.

In August 2026, TVA’s board approved a new rate structure specifically for data centers effective October 1. Data centers are expected to pay approximately 10 percent more for power, with the increase phased in over three years.

New or expanding data centers requiring more than five megawatts must also pay a capacity commitment charge (CCC). McClain said the charge allows TVA to collect money before investing in the generation and transmission infrastructure needed to serve a project.

“This fee is collected proactively to minimize financial risk for all ratepayers. The capacity commitment charge is about $1.5 million per megawatt,” McClain said.

McClain said the policy is intended to keep other customers from paying for infrastructure built for a data center, particularly if the project does not use all the electricity it requested or does not move forward.

McClain also said the CCC allows TVA to interrupt data center operations to protect grid reliability while infrastructure updates are completed.

Where does this leave the future of data centers in North Alabama? Local leaders weigh in

Huntsville City Council President Jennie Robinson said the city should set standards for resource use and community impacts before considering another hyperscale project.

“Honestly, the one hyperscale data center we currently have in Huntsville is plenty. Any future proposal should be evaluated under a formal city policy addressing location, power and water consumption, noise, infrastructure costs, environmental effects, job creation, and the overall benefit to residents,” Robinson said. 

District 4 City Council Member Bill Kling took a more definitive position on additional development.

“I am opposed, lock, stock, and barrel, to any additional data centers coming into the city of Huntsville. Period,” Kling said. 

Kling said he favors discouraging new projects rather than imposing a temporary pause for further study.

“I’m not particularly interested in a two-year moratorium to study it. Don’t want to study it. We’re done. We got our energy. Legally, I don’t know if we can prevent them, but we don’t have to give them any inducements. We don’t have to give them any support,” Kling said.  

Kling said the city should determine what restrictions are legally available.

“I would certainly encourage the city attorney’s office to investigate and make sure that we’re doing everything we can to discourage them within the law,” Kling said. 

Looking ahead to the 2027 legislative session, Givhan said he expects lawmakers to consider additional data center legislation, particularly changes to the state tax incentives offered to qualifying projects.

“It’s clear now that they want to come whether they get the incentives or not. So why should we give them incentives? From a tax standpoint, I don’t see any reason to do that,” Givhan said.

Givhan said broader restrictions are less likely to gain legislative approval. Instead, he said lawmakers could consider development standards for projects proposed in more rural areas. 

“I think there is some discussion about out in the county where they don’t have zoning, that there might be minimum acreage requirements,” Givhan said. 

Calls for transparency and a pause

Empowering Women’s Causes, a local nonpartisan group, co-sponsored an August public meeting with Robinson and Little to discuss the Meta data center in Huntsville specifically. 

As of September 16, Empowering Women’s Causes President Lynn Anderson said Robinson had promised her a work session to discuss the Meta data center but has yet to schedule one. 

Anderson described the organization’s objective and concerns. 

“We want a moratorium on any new data centers. This technology will be obsolete in less than 20 years. The parts that go into the data center have less than a 10-year life cycle. The anti-corrosive chemicals used in the cooling process are going where?” Anderson said.

 

Anderson said her group would like to see Huntsville City Council, Huntsville Utilities, Henry Thornton, Meta’s Community Engagement Manager, and Mayor Tommy Battle at the work session. 

“We feel there has been no accountability or transparency about this specific data center. We want to know about what phase this development is in now. Were taxpayer dollars used to entice them to come here?” Anderson said. 

State Rep. Marilyn Lands, Huntsville, also supports temporarily pausing new projects while officials evaluate their implications.

“I think at a minimum we do need some kind of a temporary moratorium so that we can just better understand what’s happening,” Lands said. 

Lands also pointed to recently enacted legislation requiring Public Service Commission review of certain electricity contracts involving large data centers as an initial safeguard.

“I do think that the bill we passed a session that requires the Alabama Public Service Commission review of electricity contracts for these very large data centers is a good first step, but I do think we’re going to have to go further,” Lands said.

 As demand for data centers increases, so will calls for greater transparency, stronger safeguards, and a clearer understanding of what these facilities mean for their surrounding communities.