The data center would be located in Southeast Little Rock near the Sweet Home community, and would likely draw more than 100 megawatts of power.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District, has put out a public notice about a planned data center coming to Southeast Little Rock.
The public notice is standard procedure for projects like this one and includes details about the project and opportunities for public comment.
“We’ve got to look at what needs to be compensated and mitigated for that application to go through,” Jay Townsend, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps, said.
Townsend said that the Corps’ evaluation of the application is ongoing and will take into consideration things like environmental impact, cultural significance of the land, and more.
However, Townsend said they’d prefer to approve the application and view rejection only as a last resort.
“The goal is really not to get to denial,” Townsend said. “The goal is to try to work towards a yes and find a way not to slow down the production.”
The data center would be located near Sweet Home, off Harper Road.
Over at the Little Rock Regional Chamber, CEO Jay Chesshir said they’re eager for the company involved in the project to get started.
“We’re really pleased that Google has announced that they’re the ones that have actually purchased the property,” Chesshir said. “We’re really excited.”
Google, which is also planning a data center in West Memphis, did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
The Army Corps’ public notice contains pages of information about the project.
It would consist of five industrial buildings that total 1.43 million square feet, as well as two additional buildings designated as office/support.
The notice also said that the data center will draw 100 megawatts of power, which is roughly the same amount needed to power every household in Little Rock.
State Rep. Denise Jones Ennett (D-Little Rock), who represents the area where the data center would be, has said she’s skeptical of them in the past due to environmental concerns and other factors.
However, Chesshir said that’s not a concern for him with this facility.
“Every step of the way, the company has wanted to do the right thing in the right way and make sure it’s good for everyone,” Chesshir said of Google.
He added that in his view, the benefits to the surrounding area will be massive.
“When you look at the new tax dollars, when you look at the new jobs, when you look at the new opportunities that this is going to provide for us to even attract other companies to the area,” Chesshir said, “We believe this is going to be a really big win-win for everyone.”
The Army Corps of Engineers said public comments on the project can be submitted through May 1st, though their evaluation will continue past that date.
Comments can be submitted to [email protected] or using this link.
The public notice on the project can be found here.
The post Evaluation, public comment underway for Google’s Little Rock data center appeared first on World Online.
