LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Leaders in Lake County are putting the brakes on new data centers, giving officials time to study how these massive facilities could impact the community.
The Lake County Commission unanimously agreed Tuesday to a one-year moratorium on data centers. Aside from the land use, Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini has two other reasons for keeping these facilities at a distance.
While Lake County is hitting pause, Orlando is moving forward with a new $100 million data center project near I-4 and Lee Road.
The debate highlights the growing push and pull over the future of data centers in Central Florida.
Sabatini said that he understands the value of data centers, but doesn’t see a place for them in his county.
“We have a cultural heritage of rural and agricultural land that we really want to focus on and highlight. And we don’t want to be giving up open lands to industrial data projects. It’s not, it’s not on brand for Lake County,” Sabatini said.
“Number two is the enormous drain on water resources and utilities in our county when it comes to electricity and water. And then number three, the completely fabricated economic development benefits that come along with these applications, they claim that they create all these jobs,” Sabatini said.
Data centers are turning up all across the country, including in Orlando. Owners say that data centers are the backbone of the digital economy.
“More and more people will realize these data centers are very mission critical. And we do want a new generation of them that are better,” HostDime CEO Manny Vivar said.
Vivar is the CEO of HostDime, a company building a $100 million data center near I-4 and Lee Road. Vivar says most don’t understand the new generation of data centers. Unlike hyper scale centers built in the Midwest, his hyperedge 30-megawatt facility is energy efficient, using less water and electricity than legacy facilities.
“Use a closed-loop system. You know, where we, you know, charged with water once and then you sort of just recycled the water,” he said.
He said that he understands communities in Florida not wanting data centers in their backyard. He believes that in five years, 80% of online users in Central Florida will be using his facility and not even know it. It’s all about speed and connectivity, and that demand will be everywhere around the state.
“As sort of the infrastructure gets utilized by businesses, then yes, the benefits of everyday use will come to a realization,” he said.
Vivar also said that data centers don’t employ vast numbers of employees like some believe.
HostDime will employ 50 when up and running. The company is expecting its new data center to be online by the beginning of August.