Northport Lacks the Power Lines Data Centers Need, Mayor Phillips Says

Northport does not have the high-voltage transmission infrastructure that large data centers require, Mayor Dale Phillips told the city council Monday, and no company has approached the city about building one.

The assessment came during a work session discussion of whether Northport should write data centers into its zoning code. The meeting was held in the dark - which is not to say it was out of the public eye, but conducted in a room left without power after strong storms north of the river on Monday.

As the topic came up for discussion, Councilwoman Jamie Dykes asked whether anyone had shown interest in building one in the city.

"No, and we're not able to have one," Phillips said. "I want to be careful how I say this, but we don't have the high-voltage power. We have plenty of power, but we don't have the high-voltage transmission lines that cost millions of dollars to build. The closest one to the city of Northport is at Hunt Oil."

Phillips stressed that doesn't mean there's any shortage of power for residential service, and said he has spent considerable time researching the industry.

"If someone wanted to build a data center in Northport, they're going to have to spend millions to get a power line in," he said. "And if you look at where data centers are going nationally, most are tracking alongside automakers because the power's already there."

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City staff is nonetheless drafting zoning amendments that would establish where a data center could go if one were ever proposed.

City administrator Terra Tubbs told the Thread the work is being done at the staff level and will come back to the council for discussion before moving to the planning and zoning commission and then returning for a final vote on an ordinance.

"I just think it's important to note tonight that nobody has reached out to us wanting to put a data center in Northport," Tubbs said. "But it is an item that we don't currently have listed in our zoning ordinance, so we do want to have that discussion. If there was one, where would be an appropriate zone?"

Dykes raised the possibility of a moratorium on approving data centers, a step other cities have taken around the state and nation, during the work session and said the Northport council has previously discussed one.

City administrator Tera Tubbs said implementing one would be legally defensible for a year and could be extended from there while the city studies the issue, but city staff also said Northport does not need one.

"We don't need both," assistant city attorney Kim King said. "The idea behind a moratorium is to give yourself time to make all of those changes because you don't want something coming in before you get a chance to think about it, study it and make decisions. If we're already making the changes and there's nobody that we know of coming in, we can go ahead and work on the ordinances. We don't need a moratorium."

The council appears poised to skip a moratorium for now and pursue the zoning amendments, but Dykes got assurances they could pursue the lockout option for a year if the council wants to.

Mayor Dale Phillips will host a town hall on the subject tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Data centers are on the agenda, along with Flock Cameras and other License Plate Readers and whatever else residents want to raise.

"We have no announcements, there's no data center coming, and there's nothing in the works. We just want to have an open discussion," Phillips said. "I'm going to try to provide people with the information that I know, and I hope they can provide me with information, because the worst thing we can do right now is have misled or misguided information out there and people buying into that."

Phillips said he has done a great deal of research on the topic and has been surprised by some of what he found.

"I want to put that information out and also hear the people's feelings, how they feel and get their thoughts on it once they hear some correct information," he said. "I'm going to have information that leans toward both sides, so I'm not biased either way. I just want to share information that has been researched and is viable."

He said the city is not closing the door on the industry.

"We're going to take this with a very careful step forward, meaning we're going to look at every aspect of it and vet out every aspect. If it is a good fit, then we'll go with it," Phillips said. "But right now, I can't reiterate this enough, we don't have anyone talking to us about a data center. This is just an informational meeting to get information to people who may have some misguided information, or who simply want to learn more."

The discussion comes as data centers reshape the conversation in eastern Tuscaloosa County.

As the Thread has reported, three national developers have assembled land along the Brookwood Parkway corridor.

Applied Digital, which owns roughly 1,300 acres and holds a state stormwater permit for a two-million-square-foot building.

The New York firm Youngwoo & Associates' final parcel for a data center campus was annexed and rezoned by the Brookwood City Council earlier this month.

Provident Data Centers has also been tied through records to more than 500 acres north of Interstate 20.

For more exclusive coverage of Northport news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.