Moratorium placed on data centers

Editor’s Note: This story is updated online to better describe the size of the proposed high line.

A moratorium has been placed on the addition of new data centers in Adair County.

The board of supervisors unanimously enacted a moratorium on the structures, but it does not restrict those that may currently be in the works.

County leaders previously learned about Midcontinent Independent System Operator wanting to build a new high transmission line through the eastern part of the county. More details about the project are expected in May. As currently proposed, it would enter the northern part of the county, transferring power between an existing substation in the Arbor Hill Wind Farm area and a new one in the vicinity of York Avenue in the eastern part of the county.

Supervisor Jodie Hoadley told the board at a previous meeting that MISO previously considered a line about half the size of the one now proposed — current plans are for a 765-kilovolt transmission line that has support towers more than 10 stories tall — a scale Hoadley said would be “a lot for that area to take on.” That amount is the same as 765,000 volts — 6,000 times the voltage of a standard household outlet.

Data centers require large amount of electricity and water to operate efficiently. Land negotiations in the Hebron area could involve more than just the transmission line, she said.

The supervisors also have a working rough draft of an ordinance regulating data centers. They updated it last week to say any data center-type equipment must be housed within a permanent structure with a foundation, not in shipping containers, cargo containers, railroad cars or semi trailers.

The transmission line is believed to be to better distribute electricity produced by wind turbines.

MidAmerican on energy center progress

MidAmerican Energy spokesperson John Huff said workers will begin arriving this week at the Orient Energy Center job site, located at the corner of Orange Avenue and Adair-Union Street south of Orient. Paving will begin in the area in early to mid-April. Water line work, mainly in Union County, is in progress.

“Traffic will be pretty light starting out, but it’ll pick up as we get into the thick of things,’ Huff said.

MidAmerican is also in the process of replacing wind turbines that were damaged after the tornado. The company is working to get final approval from the FAA on the locations of the turbines, then work on the surrounding roads or intersections can be done to prepare for components to be delivered, hopefully sometime in May.

MidAmerican hopes to have those turbines erected by sometime in July or August.

“It’s been delayed due to government shutdowns and things of the like,” Huff said. “We have been reaching out to the affected landowners and will be reaching out to them again soon with some more current information.”