Q&A of the Day – About Project Tango & Indiantown Data Center Proposals Part 2
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s entry: Hi Brian, Need clarity on Data Centers so of course I thought of you to get the real story...one side to facts. Rumor has it a data center may be coming to Indiantown. There is much consternation regarding it. Folks are even planning on protesting. Doesn't AI dictate their necessity? What is so good or so bad about them? I've heard they use massive quantities of electricity which will cause brownouts and higher energy costs to the residents. But, I've also heard that they are capable of generating their own electricity. Is this just a case of NIMBY? Thanks.
Bottom Line: In yesterday’s Q&A I covered the proposed Project Tango data center in western Palm Beach County. In today’s Q&A, I’ll dive into the Silver Fox proposal in Indiantown. There are many similarities between the two proposed massive AI data center proposals. Both proposals are for hyperscale AI data centers in western communities with easy access to an FPL power supply and water that can be reclaimed for cooling purposes. There are also a few specific differences.
The Silver Fox proposal is the largest proposed hyperscale/AI data center in our area to date. The name for the project is derived from the road it would be located off of in the Village of Indiantown, in Martin County. Specifically, the project calls for using approximately 606 acres of mostly vacant and undeveloped land at 13820 Silver Fox Road. Unlike Project Tango, which involves land first approved for commercial development in 2016, the land for the proposed Silver Fox project was only purchased last June for $17.5 million. Existing zoning for the area allows for heavy industrial development.
The entity behind this proposal is Silver Fox 606 LLC, a Juno Beach-based company founded in April of last year, presumably for the purpose of this project. Developer Nelson Ferreira, of Ferreira Construction, is the principal behind the company.
The proposal outlines these details:
- A 2+ million square foot campus with four data center buildings that could be up to 5 stories tall and an AI lab
- An FPL substation for power.
- Two man-made lakes for cooling
- Development on 296 of the 606 acres
The developer has estimated 400 jobs will be added for the construction of the project as suggested it will significantly boost Indiantown's economy. Many of the expressed concerns by area residents are similar to those of Project Tango. IE, concerns of higher energy costs, environmental impacts, etc. As I noted when covering Project Tango, FPL has stated that unlike in other states, should large AI data centers like Project Tango move forward, they’ll ensure that existing consumers won’t pay more for electricity – passing all costs through to the operators.
Aside from the overall proposed footprint of the Silver Fox project checking in with a much larger footprint, the environmental concerns are greater as well. It’s estimated that 200 of the 606 acres are wetlands. Given that developers have proposed building on just under half of the total acreage, one might imagine that the wetlands would be among the undeveloped areas, though it’s reasonable for concerns about the potential for those lands to be disturbed if not developed.
As for where we stand...
The Silver Fox proposal isn’t as far along in the process as Project Tango. Currently it’s still under staff review within the Village of Indiantown. In the event it is advanced by officials to a next step, there would then be a series of at least three public hearings that would need to be scheduled (it’s the process Project Tango is currently in).
So, I’ve reported on the Project Tango and Silver Fox proposals, you can decide how you feel about them. Incidentally, there’s another potential plan for a hyperscale AI data center coming together as well. The combination of Florida’s geographical opportunities and business friendliness along with the ever-rising need for more AI-storage will likely mean that regardless of what does or doesn’t happen with these two projects, it won’t be the end of the story.
As an analyst I know enough about AI data centers to be dangerous, but I’ll say this. My view is that the two best AI-data center solutions going forward will be brought about in two different ways... Space, which is what Elon Musk and SpaceX is working on. And here on earth – by far the best path forward is with photonics, or light-based data centers that have far greater bandwidth and far less power usage. Neither proposed project is photonics based. Photonics is the future and in my view should frame thinking around these types of projects generally.