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MARIETTA - The company developing a proposed data center in the Waterford area issued a letter to the community that was shared during Wednesday's Washington County Commission meeting.
Commission President Charlie Schilling read the letter from Mehdi Nezami, vice president of development for ACS Digital & Energy, a Spain-based company redeveloping the former Muskingum River Power Plant site as part of "Project Riverbend." ACS Group is a construction engineering company headquartered in Madrid and "is a leader in the development of essential and next generation infrastructures," according to its website.
The data center project has been the subject of much debate at commission meetings this year, starting in January after commissioners received a letter of intent from "potential developers." While the letter was initially tabled for further discussion, commissioners approved the letter and accompanying non-disclosure agreement later the same month, allowing them to enter into conversations with the developers.
Since then, residents at the meetings have expressed concerns on the environmental impact, water consumption, energy consumption, noise pollution and more. Residents also opposed commissioners entering an NDA as public officials, saying they were worried about a lack of accountability within closed discussions.
Commissioners have responded to the public stating the project would be a very substantial economic development for the county and that the NDA was standard procedure that allowed them to engage with the developers.
In the letter, Nezami says ACS is the sponsor behind the redevelopment, in partnership with Turner Construction and Continuum Partners. He explains that data centers "store and process digital information that supports the services we rely on every day, strengthening the digital infrastructure that communities, businesses and public services depend on."
Nezami acknowledges questions people have about the project and says planning is still in the early stages, meaning "many details will continue to evolve.
"Rather than waiting until every decision has been made, we wanted to introduce ourselves now, share our vision for the project, and begin an open conversation with the community from the outset," he says.
The company will continue working with utilities, public agencies and stakeholders, the letter says. It cites principles guiding the work, including honoring the region's legacy, creating local opportunity, developing responsibly and communicating openly.
"This is the beginning of the conversation," Nezami writes. "As planning progresses, we'll continue sharing information, answering questions, and providing updates through our Community Information website which will be live in the near future."
After reading the letter, Schilling said, "I want to publicly thank the developer for providing this message to the community, and look forward to working with them throughout the process."
The former power plant site was purchased for $1.2 million in 2021 by the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority and the Belpre-Parkersburg Industrial Railroad. Port Authority Executive Director Jesse Roush said at the time the goal was to provide heavy industrial companies will have a site ready with access to rail, water from the Muskingum River, electrical substations and a natural gas supply through Texas Eastern Pipeline.
The plant closed in 2015 and was purchased later that year by Missouri-based Commercial Liability Partners LLC, which prepared the land for future development. The last of its smokestacks were demolished in 2018.
The AEP Muskingum River Plant facility had a generating capacity of 1,425 megawatts and at one time employed between 350 and 400 people.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.
Sophie Wheeler can be reached at swheeler@newsandsentinel.com.