By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Businessman Tom Moulton thinks data centers are the future, and he’s ready to prove it in Nottingham.
“I know there’s a lot of controversy or angst about data centers,” Moulton said. “I think it’s a natural fact of business and of life that this is where it’s going.”
Moulton isn’t breaking out the shovels and silicon chips yet. His data center is still in the concept stage as Moulton seeks feedback from local officials. He’s scheduled to go before the Nottingham Planning Board next week to discuss his plans for a 100-plus acre property on Old Turnpike Road.
“We’re just going to see what the appetite of the town is,” Moulton said.
Planning Board Chair Drew Stevens did not respond to InDepthNH.org’s request for comment. Even if Nottingham’s officials and residents were opposed to Moulton’s plan, there’s little they could do to stop it.
New Hampshire law requires state enabling statutes addressing specific zoning issues before municipalities can craft and adopt local ordinances. New Hampshire state law has no data center definition on the books, meaning cities and towns can’t create local zoning to set guardrails on the projects, said Rep. Hope Damon (D-Croydon.)
“We don’t have anything that enables the municipalities to put regulations in place, and the state doesn’t have any regulations,” she said.
Damon was part of a legislative effort to give cities and towns that authority with a SB 439. But the bill was gutted in the amendment process by data center advocates in Concord, and it was eventually tabled this year.
Warehouse sized data centers are used for the massive computing systems that power artificial intelligence programs. Those centers strain electricity grids, forcing utilities to fund infrastructure upgrades. While the data centers pay for their powers, all of the utility customers typically end up paying for the rapid upgrades, driving up bills.
The centers also require massive amounts of water to cool the servers. Large centers can use up to 5 million gallons a day, enough for 10,000 to 15,000 people.
The large water and power consumption, combined with noise pollution from the centers, have pushed many communities to oppose the facilities. But people need to get reconciled to data centers whether they like them or not, Moulton said.
The reality is we’re gonna need these places for the future. If not New Hampshire, where?” Moulton said.
Moulton’s plans are still developing. His proposed data center would use about 40 acres of the Old Turnpike Road property. The property has about 60 to 70 usable acres due to wetlands, he said. The area is fairly remote and shouldn’t interfere with population centers. Once operating, it would provide more taxes for the town, he said.
He’s currently exploring the project on spec, as he does not have any tech firm lined up as a data center tenant. If he moves forward, Moulton expects to lay out tens of millions of dollars to develop the site for any further tenant.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Moulton said.