TOWN OF LERAY, New York (WWNY) – A Central New York real estate broker says the town of LeRay is the perfect location for a data center, and it\u2019s already being marketed to find a buyer and developer.<\/p>\n
Thousands of acres in the town of LeRay on County Route 16 near Evans Mills are being marketed for a data center. The proposal includes hundreds of acres for a massive campus of buildings and potentially its own solar energy.<\/p>\n
Allen Olmsted, owner and real estate broker at Canaan Realty, whose company is marketing the land, says the proposal would be more efficient than other data centers, which are facilities that house the infrastructure needed for the data that powers a phone, laptop, or artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to see it continue to suck a million gallons of water a day, or 300 megawatts of power a day,\u201d Olmsted said.<\/p>\n
Sustainable approach proposed<\/p>\n
His goal is to make data centers more sustainable by minimizing water usage and using a private energy source.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just stop data centers, but we certainly can do better,\u201d Olmsted said.<\/p>\n
Reasons he thinks a data center is a good fit include new energy infrastructure recently installed by National Grid, double fiber optic access and its proximity to Fort Drum.<\/p>\n
Olmsted says if the army post gets its own nuclear energy, he hopes some of that could be used for this sort of project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Janus Program at Fort Drum would be amazing, if we can tie into that. Small modular reactors. Great technology, and that to me is going to be the next generation of how data centers don\u2019t consume so much of our resources from the local community,\u201d Olmsted said.<\/p>\n
Town considering moratorium<\/p>\n
Olmsted has talked with town of LeRay officials. The town may be considering a six-month moratorium on data centers to get an understanding about projects like this, and officials want to hear from residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk with the town board, obviously the planning board, and our attorney to see the direction we\u2019d need to go,\u201d said Lee Carpenter, town supervisor.<\/p>\n
Albany is also looking into a three-year moratorium statewide on data centers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not taking a position on them one way or the other. We\u2019re just saying we think there\u2019s a way to do it responsibly, and we will ensure that conversation is advanced,\u201d Assemblyman Scott Gray said.<\/p>\n
Olmsted says the data center wouldn\u2019t be catered specifically to AI, and he\u2019d work with any company that shares his values.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to see New York state say, \u2018We\u2019d love to champion something like this that can be very environmentally friendly, net-neutral, as close as you can get,\u2019\u201d Olmsted said.<\/p>\n
Gray says if Fort Drum gets nuclear energy, it\u2019s unlikely it will be shared off-post. He says companies that would use up a lot of energy could bring in their own power generation.<\/p>\n
St. Lawrence County project reviewed<\/p>\n
In St. Lawrence County, the planning board reviewed site plans for a proposed data center in the town of Massena on Thursday night. <\/p>\n
Those at the meeting say Bitcoin company NYDIG wants to build three new structures, the smallest of which is 400,000 square feet, which is twice the size of Potsdam\u2019s Walmart. It would use about 635 megawatts to power all three. Renderings show the structures being built near the former Alcoa East plant. <\/p>\n
Planning board members discussed power consumption, water usage, and other issues related to the project. They recommended approval with a list of conditions needing to be met.<\/p>\n