The Nottingham planning board voted to advance a measure that will prevent data centers from being built in town, at least temporarily.
During a meeting Wednesday, the board voted unanimously in favor of a 12-month moratorium on constructing these facilities within town limits.
The proposal now heads to a special town meeting to be voted on by residents.
The move comes after a now-withdrawn proposal to build a facility in May generated significant backlash. Even with that plan tabled, the town still started taking steps to prevent similar projects from getting underway.
The temporary ordinance is intended to “protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of Nottingham and the surrounding communities, along with the regional watershed” while “[allowing] the town adequate time to study the potential land use, environmental infrastructure and fiscal impacts associated with data centers.”
This 1-year statute will give the town the opportunity to make potential zoning changes that could ban data centers permanently, according to planning board chair Drew Stevens.
About 30 members of the public attended the meeting Wednesday, said Stevens, and a few spoke about their fears that a data center would negatively impact quality of life in the small community.
One of those residents was Conrad Mansager, a local cattle farmer who said disruptions to local water systems caused by climate change and industrial activities can be particularly harmful to agriculture.
“I just want the planning board to understand that the drought conditions have continued and probably gotten worse over the last 10 years and this would have a dramatic effect on that,” he said.
Large data centers, like the kind used to support artificial intelligence, can use vast amounts of water to keep systems cool, up to 5 million gallons per day, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. That amount of water, the institute said, is equivalent to the daily water usage of a town of up to 50,000 people, a far greater population than the approximately 5,200 people who live in Nottingham.
Other residents raised concerns about potential increases to ambient land temperature and noise pollution. Extreme heat events, like the one this week, can lead to strained energy grids and poorer air quality in communities near large data centers.
The Portsmouth Herald reported on Monday that the developer behind the original May plan is considering reintroducing the plan.
The date of the special town meeting to vote on the proposal will be determined by the select board.
