PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County Government will hold a public information session, “Data Centers 101,” on Monday, Sept. 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick Campus, Building B, located at 115 J.W. Williams Road in Prince Frederick. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube.
According to the county website, the session is designed to “help residents learn more about data centers and how they operate.” Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and gain a better understanding of how data centers may impact Calvert County. Panelists and county staff will address as many questions as possible during the meeting. Questions that require further research will be answered after the meeting and posted on the county’s data center website.
Residents who are interested in attending can submit questions before, during or after the meeting. There will be no public comment period during the info session, and preregistration is encouraged.
The county emphasized that the meeting is purely informational and is not a public hearing.
Data centers have been in discussion in Calvert County for at least a year and have been met with mixed opinions. Advocates say they will substantially increase tax revenue, similar to the Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Center. Representatives for Constellation, the company that owns Calvert Cliffs, have said that co-location could be an option for a data center.
Others argue that data centers use massive amounts of water and that the county’s infrastructure can’t provide what they need. Some environmental advocates say that data centers as a whole harm the environment and should be subject to tighter regulations.
Recently, a data center planned at the Landover Mall in Prince George’s County was nixed following community pushback. County Executive Aisha Braveboy also issued an executive order to freeze data center development projects. Other counties are facing similar issues as Calvert, such as Frederick County in Western Maryland, which approved a data center and added regulations.
Residents are encouraged to submit their questions and attend the information session to learn more about what a data center would mean for Calvert.
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