Why Should Delaware Care?
The vote on the proposed data center regulations in New Castle County will be the first among elected officials. The result could foreshadow the future of the emerging industry in Delaware, and competing factions are pulling out all the stops to make it go their way.
The New Castle County Council has delayed a hotly watched vote on regulating data centers for two weeks, but the vote could be delayed even further, according to the sponsor of the bill.
A Tuesday meeting featured tense showdowns between council members, who are split on whether Councilman Dave Carter’s proposed regulations would be common-sense guardrails or a major deterrence to an emerging industry of the future.
Opponents to the regulations fear that, if they were passed, the state would lose a massive proposed data center near Delaware City that is projected to bring tax revenue and jobs.
On Monday, Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick and Councilman Brandon Toole introduced legislation that would defang many of the rules proposed within the pending data center regulations, including those around noise and energy-efficiency.
Kilpatrick told Spotlight Delaware that she feels Carter’s legislation may cause Starwood Digital Ventures, the developer of the Delaware City data center plan, to abandon the plan entirely. And, she said, “If Starwood walks, the rest of them will walk.”
“I want to have guidelines, just like with anything else, but we have so many industries that have left,” Kilpatrick said. “You have to have economic development, or you die.”
That point is often brought up by local labor unions, who have been steadfast in their opposition to the regulations since Starwood last month signed an agreement to use them in constructing what’s known as Project Washington.
In response to Kilpatrick and Toole’s last-minute amendments, Carter asked the council to delay the vote on the regulations for two weeks so the county’s Department of Planning could have more time to review the changes and their potential effects on his ordinance.
Carter told Spotlight Delaware that while he plans to put his ordinance on the agenda for the Dec. 9 council meeting, he may give the Department of Planning more time to do a thorough technical review before a vote.
He also said that if the council ultimately votes against his proposed regulations, he may try to introduce another ordinance regulating data centers in the future – evidence of his concern over their potential impact on the community and energy prices.
Amendments would cut regulations
Kilpatrick and Toole’s amendments come three months after Carter introduced the original ordinance amid public outcry over Starwood’s data center plan.
It included a sweeping set of rules designed to regulate the booming data center industry, powered in recent years by the promised riches of artificial intelligence.
Kilpatrick’s amendment removes or limits his proposed regulations related to buffer zones around data centers, and to the types of backup energy generators that could be used at such facilities.
The proposal does keep certain regulations from Carter’s original ordinance, such as a ban on a type of cooling system that continuously pumps water in from the surrounding environment, known as open-loop cooling.
Kilpatrick’s proposal also states that “all resubdivision plan applications are exempted from this Ordinance regardless of the submission date to the County.”
The language appears to permit certain existing structures, such as warehouses, to convert to data centers without being subject to new regulations. Kilpatrick said that was not her intent. The Department of Land Use did not respond to a request for comment on that provision.
Toole’s proposed amendments are similar to Kilpatrick’s, although each change is proposed as a different amendment.
Toole did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his amendments.
Tension runs high at meeting
The council was split Tuesday on whether to delay the vote on the regulations, ultimately voting 8-5 to do so.
The council did not discuss the delay during the meeting. But Kilpatrick and Councilman Tim Sheldon explained their opinions in a tense conversation with Carter and Councilman Kevin Caneco outside of council chambers before the meeting.
Sheldon, who is a former vice president of the Delaware Building Trades Council, insisted that local unions should be part of any discussions about the amendments. And Kilpatrick called Carter’s plan to bring the amendments to the Department of Planning “incestuous,” claiming Carter has only spoken to a select few about his proposal.
“What do you gain by talking to the same three people?” Kilpatrick asked Carter.
Dozens of members of local unions attended Tuesday’s meeting to oppose Carter’s ordinance, and many were visibly frustrated when the council delayed the vote.
“All of y’all who voted yes won’t be sitting there next year,” one union member shouted to the council.
Delaware Building Trades President James Maravelias declined an interview request about the regulations, saying, “Nobody really cares about the people [union members] in this room.”
Tensions between the council members reached a breaking point toward the end of Tuesday’s meeting during the public comment period.
When a resident began criticizing Councilwoman Valerie George for not listening to virtual public comments at the previous council meeting, Sheldon interrupted and said the resident was “degrading” a council member during public comment.
Caneco countered that people can say what they want during public comment. After a heated exchange between the two councilmen, Sheldon got up, raised his middle finger at Caneco and left the council chambers. He did not return for the remainder of the meeting.