A proposed 4.5-million-square-foot data processing center has Bessemer residents worried about its ramifications, and could also threaten an already endangered native fish species. 

The data center campus, proposed by Logistics Land Investment LLC and known as Project Marvel, could be built on 700 acres of currently wooded land just within the city limits of Besssemer in Jefferson County pending approval from Bessemer City Council. The campus, as proposed, would feature 18 buildings, each measuring about 250,000 square feet, and would require permanent clear cutting of at least 100 acres of forest. Construction for the project could take from seven years to up to a decade and cost $14.5 billion.

Data centers house computer servers for technology companies. These centers require infrastructure such as network cables, power sources and cooling systems to function. As technology has rapidly evolved in recent years with the advent of artificial intelligence, the number of data centers in the United State has boomed—increasing from 1,000 in 2020 to more than 5,000 as of this year. 

Data centers use massive amounts of energy. If built to plan, the Bessemer data center is projected to use around 1,200 megawatts of energy and could consume as much as 10.5 million megawatt hours per year—more than 90 times the amount of energy used by all Bessemer residents annually. There are currently no plans for the plant to use alternative energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint or strain on the electrical grid.

Additionally, data centers consume hundreds of gallons of water daily to cool the heat generated by the thousands of servers housed within the center. Lawyers for Logistic Land Investment say that the end users for the Bessmer center could use a closed-loop cooling system, meant to lower water-usage, but it is still unclear what the Bessmer’s center water demand would be—an issue that is exacerbated by the fact that Alabama does not have a comprehensive water plan. This lack of a water plan means that businesses can use water from Alabama’s rivers and streams without a permit, and only businesses using more than 100,000 gallons of water per day are required to file for a certificate proving the water use is beneficial.

The data center poses a threat to the Birmingham darter, an endangered and newly-identified species of fish, which lives in Little Blue Creek—which runs through the land slated for the data center and is likely one of the only survivable environments left for the fish.

“This would nuke this creek,” Yale University biologist Thomas Near told Alabama Reflector in regards to the data center project and its potential impact on the Birmingham darter.

Furthermore, residents of the area surrounding the plant have raised concerns about noise pollution, light pollution, toxic runoff and deforestation of the rural area that surrounds them. 

“It’s going to look like a sunset,” David Havron, president of the Rock Mountain Lakes Landowners Association, told Inside Climate News. “A constant haze in the sky.”

According to Inside Climate News, only one city official they interviewed had not signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the project. This council member, Donna Thigpen, said that the council lacks many details about the project. 

“We have not met with the builders yet,” Thigpen told Inside Climate News. “We know nothing about it.”

Part of the reason there are limited details about this project is because Alabama law does not require developers to provide environmental reports or development plans in order to go forward with their development.

Still, the project has proved to be a target for lawsuits already. Residents sued the city of Bessemer, claiming that they weren’t given proper notice of public hearings regarding the proposal.

In May, the Bessemer Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the rezoning of the land for the proposed data center from being zoned for agricultural use to being zoned for industrial use. This recommendation came despite community outcry against the project at the commission’s meeting. 

The issue now goes to the Bessemer City Council. 

Alabama top stories in brief 

Alabama military base name will be restored to Fort Rucker

• President Donald Trump announced that Seven military bases whose names were changed under the Biden administration will be returned to their original names, including Alabama’s Fort Novosel, previously known as Fort Rucker.

• The name was originally changed after the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which mandated the removal of Confederate names from military bases. Fort Rucker was originally named for Col. Edmund Rucker, a Confederate soldier.

• Fort Rucker was changed to Fort Novosel, in honor of the late World War II, Korean and Vietnam veteran Michael Novosel, a medal of honor recipient and Alabama resident.

• The new change will be in honor of Captain Edward W. Rucker, who was an accomplished WWI pilot and Missouri native.

Fairhope Library state funding still in limbo

• The Fairhope Public Library, which gained attention after its funding from the Alabama Public Library Service was frozen in March, has reviewed 15 challenged books since March, reshelving five of those books to adult sections, in an effort to regain its state funding.

• However, an official from the APLS, Amy Minton, said that the library won’t regain its state funding until all books with references to sex acts are reshelved in adult sections.

• Minton pointed towards books, such as sex education guide “Doing It” by Hannah Witton, that remain in the teen section of the library—saying that they should be placed in the adult section.

• The Fairhope library board claims that none of the books that remain in the teen section of the library are “sexually explicit” when considered in their full context under federal law.

AL public high school graduation rate up to 91%

• The Alabama State Department of Education announced that roughly 91% of public high school seniors graduate this year — hitting pre-COVID-19 rates, according to State Superintendent Eric Mackey.

• This is the state’s second highest reported graduation rate. The highest reported graduation rate was in 2020 at 91.7%, but that number is considered incomplete because the state school board did not require schools to submit their accountability numbers that year.

• However, in the past, Alabama’s reported graduation rates have been questioned, with the U.S. Department of Education claiming in 2016 that the state’s graduation rate had been inflated due to poor oversight and improper calculation of graduation rates among students with disabilities.

Alabama joining multi-billion dollar opioid settlement

• Last week, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Alabama would be joining other states in a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler Family.

• The settlement would resolve litigation against Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers for their role in instigating the opioid crisis.

Bipartisan bill introduced to address doctor shortage in rural Alabama

• U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell, D-AL, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-PA, have joined together to introduce the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025, according to a recent release from Sewell’s office, aimed at combating physician shortages in rural areas nationwide.

• The bill plans to address the issue by “expanding the number of Medicare-supported medical residency positions by 14,000 over seven years.”

• The U.S. is expected to face a shortage of up to 86,000 doctors and physicians by 2026 due to the number of individuals needing care outpacing those entering medical fields, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. This bill plans to promote access to medical care for aging, rural and low-income populations.

Announcements:

• We’ve made a few changes to the website. All of our previously published Lifestyle articles have been moved to the Alabama Spotlight category. You can view all of those articles here. 

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