The general plans for a so-called hyperscale data center set for construction in the majority-Black city of Bessemer, Alabama, are well known. The proposed $14.5 billion, 4.5 million square-foot facility, with a footprint about the size of 18 Walmart Supercenter stores, will require clearing 700 acres of forest and consume enough electricity annually to power a city the size of Seattle.
Ask Mayor Kenneth Gulley, the city attorney, and other city leaders for specifics — like how Project Marvel was approved, or the damage it will do to the city’s environment — and their lips are sealed. They have signed non-disclosure agreements with the project’s developer.
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That’s why the NAACP, which is fighting the project, has demanded a range of public records related to it. In a letter to Bessemer officials, the civil rights organization called the project “unacceptable” and cited Alabama’s Open Records Act.
Another Polluter of Black Neighborhoods
The organization used the act to submit a concurrent official request for records from the city related to the project. It wants to see the NDA Gulley and others may have signed, as well as the water-use analysis, the environmental impact study, and other documents necessary to approve Project Mercury.
Abre’ Conner, the NAACP’s director of environmental and climate justice, was one of several of the letter’s signatories. In a statement, Connor said it’s time to stop Logistic Land Development, LLC — Project Marvel’s developer — from targeting a Black community.
“Communities like Bessemer have borne the brunt of toxic industries for far too long,” Conner said in a statement. “Adding yet another major polluter into a majority-Black community already burdened by some of the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the nation is unacceptable.”
Project Marvel is the latest in a growing number of data centers that advocates say will help meet the nation’s fast-growing demand for artificial intelligence computing power. But the projects have also become a flashpoint in the environmental justice movement.
Bessemer’s History of Industry
Although developers claim that the hulking data centers provide jobs for their host communities, critics argue that they come at a price: air pollution and a strain on the electrical grid. Several recent projects are planned for Black communities.
If built to capacity, Project Mercury would be one of the largest in the U.S. and would become one of Alabama’s largest single consumers of electricity.
The Bessemer plan calls for clearing hundreds of acres of forest currently zoned for agriculture, making way for the server farms. The 1,200 megawatts of power needed to run the data center is enough to power 760,000 homes annually.
There’s a long-standing history of industry in Bessemer, along with the environmental injustices that often accompany it. The land on which the data center is proposed, although zoned for agricultural use, was once owned by U.S. Steel.
The NAACP letter points out that Bessemer already contends with one of the single-largest sources of greenhouse-gas emissions in the country: the coal-fired James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant, located in nearby West Jefferson, Alabama. The power plant routinely tops the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of the top carbon emitters in the country, and it releases more greenhouse gases than some entire countries.
Mum’s the Word
Gulley, his chief of staff, and Bessemer’s city attorney have all signed agreements with Logistics Land Investment LLC to keep quiet about specific details of Project Marvel. They cite the NDA whenever even basic questions about the proposal are asked. Many city council members may have signed NDAs.
“Environmental justice means ensuring that Black and Brown people are not forced to choose between economic development and their right to breathe clean air and live with dignity,” Conner said. “We call on the City of Bessemer to reject Project Marvel and instead invest in sustainable solutions that uplift our communities and begin to undo the harm already done in the region.”
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As the NAACP letter argues, “Siting a fossil-fuel polluting and energy depleting data center in an already overburdened majority Black community is unfortunately on par for many environmentally unjust decisions that impact places like Bessemer.”
In addition to detailing the reasons why the NAACP opposes Project Marvel — and calling on Bessemer officials to join the fight — the letter puts local officials on notice regarding the murky approval process. They argue Project Titan was green-lit with virtually no public feedback.
“We have had a hard time finding any agenda information regarding meetings and any advance notice that is easily discernible to the public for input,” the letter reads.
Last month, the city council delayed a vote on rezoning the property, a necessary step that Project Marvel must clear before it can move forward. The city council is likely to reconsider the plan on Oct. 7.