GCEDC should say no to massive data center at STAMP with detrimental impacts to community

Editor:

This Thursday, the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) is voting on a purchase agreement with US Stream Data Centers.

This is after GCEDC voted to approve Project Double Reed, a data center, to occupy the STAMP site on Route 77 despite significant public outcry. Before their vote to approve Project Double Reed, GCEDC received more than 800 public comments opposing the data center, with over 600 of those comments received in just a two-day period. GCEDC still has the opportunity to say no to moving the region’s largest data center into Genesee County.

GCEDC claims that it selected Project Double Reed because it would have the smallest environmental impact of the data centers it was considering. That does not mean its environmental impact will be small.

It will be $472 million public dollars allocated to a project with no public benefit that will cause light and noise pollution, traffic on Route 77, increase fire risks from the 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored on site, increase brown and black outs from the massive amounts of energy data centers require, and generally decrease the quality of life of those living in the surrounding communities.

Stream Data Centers is also trying to attract a Fortune 50 company worth $100 billion – why should a company like that get the 250 mw of low-cost hydropower it’s been offered?

GCEDC currently argues that the data center will bring money and jobs to Genesee County. Plug Power moved into the STAMP site in 2021 but is still under construction, and was supposed to bring in 68 jobs, none of which exist yet. I don’t believe a data center will deliver on any of what GCEDC is promising – it will not have a small environmental impact, and it will not bring anything good to the community.

GCEDC can still listen to the local residents who it serves by voting no to a purchase agreement with Stream Data Centers.

Shelby Green

Town of Shelby