Data center growth in Alabama: 492 Alabamians weigh in

In a high tech world, advancements can sometimes outpace the regulations surrounding them, and this has certainly been the case with data centers popping up all over the country. 

These data centers are a necessity for tech resources, and if we want to move forward with the emerging technology in today’s business world, we will need to find suitable locations for these centers. 

Alabama’s 23 existing data centers

Data centers are growing rapidly due to the increase in data generation and consumption occurring across multiple industries. A recent study by the University of Michigan says that AI has driven increases in data center electricity demands as advanced machine learning models require “massive computational power for training and inference.”

In fact the study suggests that a prompt on ChatGPT requires 10 times more energy than a traditional Google search.

Already in Alabama, 23 data centers are up and running. But many Alabama municipalities have delivered proactive regulations and guidelines in the event they might be the next target for a company to build their data center.

A few tidbits on Alabama data centers:

• As of May 2026, Alabama has 23 operating data centers in 12 cities run by 11 different providers.
• The largest operating data center in Alabama is DC Blox – Birmingham Data Center, with a capacity of 5 megawatts.
• The largest planned data center in Alabama is Western Hospitality Childersburg Data Center. The project will have a capacity of 500 megawatts.

Proposed new data centers in Alabama

According to Datacenters.com, several proposed data centers are expected to come to the state, including:

• Project Marvel (Bessemer): A large-scale AI data center that has expanded to include roughly 1,600 acres to include 18 server farms
• Project Red Clay (Lowndes County): An 800-plus-acre site near Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21, being developed by Cloverleaf Infrastructure
• Nebius AI Factory (Birmingham): A proposed AI data center in the Oxmoor Valley area
• Western Hospitality Childersburg Data Center (Childersburg)): A planned 500 MW capacity data center
• Digihost (Shelby County): A planned 55 MW, two-phase project
• DC Blox Expansion (Shelby County): A 54 MW expansion of existing infrastructure

All of these proposed data centers have faced some pushback from local residents in some form. And many Alabama communities have already put into place regulations in case a data center is proposed in their cities.

The City of Athens in April passed a resolution regulating data centers in the city, before any such center has even been proposed. The city approved a measure addressing data centers as a conditional use in the manufacturing/heavy industrial zone. This provides an additional level of scrutiny and the ability to apply conditions of use, but restricts the location and does not offer a guarantee of approval.

The Birmingham Planning Commission recently approved an ordinance to regulate data center placement and operations, differentiating between smaller facilities and larger projects. This stems from a proposed AI data center by Nebius in Oxmoor Valley.

As well, Colombiana passed regulations in February requiring sound studies, landscape buffers and height limits for data centers.

The pros + cons of data centers

When a data center opens, like many other large-scale businesses, a community benefits from job creation, tax revenue and contracts for local suppliers during construction.

On a broader scale, data centers are helpful by enabling the daily digital services that businesses and consumers rely on, such as banking, video calls and AI applications.

Additionally, the presence of data centers can make a region more appealing to other technology-related companies, prompting more economic development.

But these centers have come with their own set of problems. According to the UM study, some of the main concerns residents have with data centers locating in their cities include:

• Increased Utility Rates: Data centers increase local electric utility rates by driving up overall energy demand, which can strain grid capacity and force utilities to invest in costly infrastructure upgrades.
• High Resource Consumption: A single data center can consume up to 2 megawatt hours of power—equivalent to the power used by 2,000 homes—and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling, straining local resources and infrastructure. For reference, Alabama’s power plants have a total summer capacity of 31,000 MW.
• Ineffective Tax Incentives: Tax breaks for data centers do not always deliver the promised economic benefits (such as high-paying jobs) and they reduce local tax revenues, while shifting financial burdens onto communities and schools.
• Noise complaints: Noise has become an issue because data centers require consistent cooling and power, leading to a constant “buzzing sound” from rooftop air-handling units, air-cooled chillers and diesel generators.
• Habitat destruction: Hundreds of acres of land is used for these centers, which destroys wildlife habitat and affects the quality of life for residents of the nearby communities.

492 Alabamians weigh in on data centers

We polled audiences across all of our publications—The Bama Buzz, Hville Blast and Bham Now, Mobile Bay Now and Montgomery UP!— and found that the reaction to data centers is mixed (and also somewhat location dependent).

In total, 492 people took our poll which asked what people thought about the rapid growth of data centers and their expansion into Alabama.

What our polling found is that the majority of our audience is in favor of regulating data centers or are against them outright:

Total responses: 492

• Bring them on! More jobs! (19%)
• Neutral (11%)
• More regulations needed (34%)
• Against (36%)

The Bama Buzz

• Bring them on! More jobs! (22%)
• Neutral (16%)
• More regulations needed (22%)
• Against (41%)

Hville Blast:

• Bring them on! More jobs! (16%)
• Neutral (11%)
• More regulations needed (39%)
• Against (35%)

Bham Now:

• Bring them on! More jobs! (22%)
• Neutral (12%)
• More regulations needed (33%)
• Against (33%)

Montgomery UP!

• Bring them on! More jobs! (12%)
• Neutral (0%)
• More regulations needed (38%)
• Against (50%)

Mobile Bay Now

• Bring them on! More jobs! (0%)
• Neutral (0%)
• More regulations needed (33%)
• Against (67%)

Data center regulation in Alabama

Statewide, House Bill 399 was unanimously passed in April and is ready for Gov. Ivey to sign. This bill reins in tax incentives available for Alabama data center facilities.

State leaders have expressed concerns over the environmental impact of data centers on Alabama as well.

“The fear that people have is an increased utility cost—huge issue—in addition to water runoff and other things. But I just want to make sure that moving forward, that we do some things to also protect the environment.”

_{Sen. Merika Coleman (D-Birmingham)}

“In a state where polluting industry and development are incentivized and natural resources are overlooked, we must do a better job safeguarding our remaining intact ecosystems, spring-fed streams and native fishes that call them home,”

_{Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper}

Sen. Katie Britt has also expressed the need to regulate data centers, but added that she understands the need for them.

“I understand the importance of data centers. We are in a race against China when it comes to AI, and we have to make sure we maintain the lead that we currently have because this is the race. However, I think we have to be smart about how we do it.”

_{Sen. Katie Britt}

How do you feel about data centers in Alabama? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok!