The Nashville Zoo is pushing back against a proposed data center planned for a site next to the zoo.
Nashville Zoo launched an online petition this week urging people to sign and resist the proposed data center.
As of Tuesday, the petition has been signed by almost 363,000 people.
The Nashville Planning Commission will have a public hearing on the proposed data center on Thursday.
According to the Nashville Zoo, the data center would be 1.6 acres on a 23.5-acre lot.
The data center plans to use at least 50 megawatts of power, enough to support between 30,000 and 50,000 homes, the Nashville Zoo said.
“For the Zoo’s 3,000 animals and a neighborhood already facing economic challenges, this proposed development is especially concerning. Constant noise from cooling systems and generators, and light pollution from bright security and operational lighting can dramatically affect animal behavior, disrupting their natural photo periods and rhythms,” the Nashville Zoo noted.
“Stress on the animals from these factors can be detrimental to our conservation efforts, especially our clouded leopard breeding program,” it added.
The Nashville Zoo also said its “top priority is to protect [its] precious animals and their environment.”
“We are equally committed to the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and neighbors living nearby,” the Nashville Zoo noted.
“Yet, with no regulations or safeguards for use in place, developers intend to build a 69,000 square feet data center on land abutting the Zoo. They assert the community need not worry, that building a data center next door to one of the region’s most delicate environments will cause no harm,” the Nashville Zoo added.
The company set to build the proposed data center next to the Nashville Zoo is DC BLOX, which is an Atlanta-based data center company.
DC BLOX opened a data center in Chattanooga back in 2017.
The Tennessee Star reached out to DC BLOX for comment, but the company did not respond before press time.
Local governments in Tennessee are starting to resist data centers. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said in a letter on Monday that she will introduce an ordinance seeking to impose a one-year moratorium on large data centers in the city.
In addition, the Knox County Commission will discuss a resolution on June 22 that bans the construction of data centers in the county until June 30th, 2027.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “Nashville Zoo” by Michael Hicks. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
