Ahead of our Open House on June 3, we offer the following expanded responses to common community questions to help clarify where Project Red Clay stands now and how we will continue to partner with the community moving forward.
Cloverleaf Infrastructure is committed to transparency with the community.
Non-Disclosure Agreements and Confidentiality
- Cloverleaf has not asked any local leaders or stakeholders to sign non-disclosure agreements related to the project. We remain committed to sharing relevant and up-to-date information with local leadership and community members as the project progresses.
- We have engaged early in the development process for the sake of transparency and the ability to receive feedback from the community at large as the project is developed.
Water Use
- Historically, some data centers have consumed large amounts of water to cool heat-producing computer equipment. Modern data centers, like Project Red Clay, use a closed-loop cooling system, which uses far less water than these historical data centers. This model requires a one-time fill, and that water is continuously recycled through the system’s sealed pipes. This helps keep the system clean, reliable, and efficient without requiring new water every day.
- Project Red Clay has requested up to 100,000 gallons of water per day, but the average daily usage will be lower than that. The facility’s daily usage will look similar to that of an office building — daily water supply is used for toilets, sinks, office kitchens, irrigation, and sprinkler systems.
- While more specifics on water usage will be finalized with design in the next few months, the 100,000 gallons per day estimate is the ceiling of water usage for this site at full build out.
- The water service agreement between Project Red Clay and Pintlala Water is in progress. When finalized, it will protect the integrity of the overall water system and its current and future users by including provisions around maximum daily use with overage penalties, minimum use including minimum billing, and upfront payment by the project for any infrastructure upgrades needed to support project operations. Additionally, Pintlala Water is using third-party engineers and advisors to support the system evaluation and agreement process.
Energy Use and Ratepayer Protection
- Project Red Clay is working closely with Alabama Power to ensure that ratepayers do not see an increase in their utility bills caused by the project. Project Red Clay will pay for all new power infrastructure and upgrades needed to support the data center.
- Project Red Clay requested delivery of up to 1,500 megawatts of power to the project site. The total capacity available for the data center is determined by Alabama Power studies and ultimately, a Contract for Electric Service to serve the data center. The Contract for Electric Service is currently under discussion between Project Red Clay and Alabama Power.
- As part of securing power, the data center commits to a minimum 15-year contract term, minimum monthly billing amounts, significant financial security and payments in case of termination. This results in the data center bearing all power-related costs for its services, not ratepayers. This arrangement also offers protection for Alabama Power and its ratepayers if any plans change for the data center development.
Final Owner/Operator of the Data Center
- Cloverleaf’s role in the data center development process is like that of a residential land developer. A residential developer identifies and prepares land for future homes by securing the necessary zoning, infrastructure, and approvals before selling individual lots to homebuilders or homeowners, who then construct and operate the homes themselves. While the homeowner did not originally develop the property, they assume responsibility for complying with the requirements tied to the approvals and for the long-term operation and maintenance of the home.
- Similarly, Cloverleaf prepares sites for future data center development by securing land rights, infrastructure planning, and power commitments before transferring the project to a company that will construct and operate the data center.
- Importantly, any company that acquires the project must assume all existing contractual obligations associated with it. Commitments made between the project and Lowndes County remain binding and transfer with the project. The end user cannot unilaterally alter or disregard those agreements, and any modifications after execution may only occur through the mutual consent of all parties involved.
- Once an end user is selected, Cloverleaf will introduce that company to local officials and ultimately the community.
- Cloverleaf works with US-based companies and does not sell projects to bitcoin or crypto mining operations.
What incentives or abatements will Project Red Clay receive?
- Project Red Clay has not requested any abatements or incentives from the Lowndes County Commission. While the project may seek an abatement of some form in the future, this has not yet been determined or proposed to the Commission.
- Project Red Clay will not seek an abatement of any amount on property taxes related to education. This investment has the potential to double the school district’s revenue by 2029, providing relief on current budget limitations.
- Project Red Clay is committed to ensuring that any future discussions regarding incentives or abatements result in a fair and balanced outcome for the community. If pursued, such abatements would likely be structured through a Development Agreement between the project and the County.
- That agreement would be designed to ensure the project delivers meaningful local benefits while also providing the County with clear expectations and enforceable commitments. It could additionally incorporate community-informed development standards and other project requirements identified through ongoing discussions with local stakeholders and County leadership.
- The project represents a minimum $1.5 billion taxable investment and is expected to inject millions of dollars of tax revenue into Lowndes County.
How will the additional Community Benefits Package be administered?
- Cloverleaf is currently finalizing a community benefits package that includes charitable donations to organizations directly serving Lowndes County and will be administered through Central Alabama Community Foundation. The project will be contractually bound to the community benefits package, which will be tied to milestones within the first 5 years of the project’s construction. This means that if there are any remaining benefits not already distributed when an end user takes over the project from Cloverleaf, the end user will be contractually obligated to continue to meet the requirements of the community benefits package. More info on these benefits can be found in our press release here.