Frederica is signaling a probable ban on data centers in town limits.
Frederica Town Council could join the growing list of municipalities acting to prohibit data centers in their communities.
Councilwoman Marie Shaw says she strongly supports an ordinance to ban them in town - with concerns over noise pollution being top of mind.
“Data centers typically generate approximately 90 decibels- from their generators, their cooling fans, and their transformers. Just to give you an idea of what that is: a normal conversation is 55 decibels. And that is a constant humming sound.” she said.
Shaw also has concerns about data centers’ potential impact on electricity bills, land use, as well as water use and water pollution -issues commonly raised elsewhere the facilities are proposed.
Other council members Bret Carpenter and Megan McIlvain echo Shaw’s concerns.
McIlvain says data centers’ reputation for increasing energy costs is driving her vote against them.
“The energy issues that we’re running into right now is that Delmarva power has been increasing rates here- and that’s one of the big concerns for me as well as many of the residents around here. And, there’s just not enough return on investment for the community, for what the data centers do to the community." she told DPM.
Carpenter also doesn't think a data center would bring enough to the town to be worth the risk. He also says he doesn't think the jobs data centers proport to bring would be enough- noting its usually only about 30 to 40 people that are employed there.
The ordinance is expected to be before council for a possible vote September 16th.
