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Residents press Palm Beach County to reconsider Project Tango AI data center over safety, zoning and environmental worries
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Summary
Residents told the county the proposed "Project Tango" hyperscale AI data center could pose noise, fire, water and zoning problems; speakers cited developer disclosures (600 MW, large chillers, hundreds of fans), proximity to an elementary school and urged rezoning or a moratorium for studies.
Residents at a Palm Beach County public forum urged commissioners to reconsider approvals or require additional studies for a proposed hyperscale AI data center known in the record as "Project Tango," citing public-safety, environmental and zoning concerns.
Speakers who identified themselves as nearby residents and community organizers said Project Tango's developer disclosed a facility scale the speakers called unprecedented: one public commenter said the project now stands at about 600 megawatts with 265 chillers of 3,200-ton capacity, nearly 795 high-performance fans and building heights of 90 to 100 feet when rooftop cooling structures are included. "There will be 654 fans, 2,000 feet away from an elementary school," one resident said, adding that constant noise, vibration and infrasound could harm students and nearby households.
Concerns ranged across topics. Public commenters warned that the facility's planned reliance on containerized lithium-ion battery backup raises fire and toxic-gas risks; they cited cases in other countries where battery fires burned for many hours and released dangerous gases. Other commenters said closed-loop cooling systems can require millions of gallons of water, risk groundwater contamination if disposed of improperly, and can create local heat-island effects. Several speakers asked whether Project Tango matches the county's "light industrial" zoning; one urged that hyperscale AI facilities be rezoned as heavy industrial because of noise, vibration and other effects that may go beyond the lot line.
Speakers also asked for concrete local benefits and protections: how many local jobs would be created, whether construction and operations would use local contractors and workers, whether there would be legally-binding limits on future scaling of the facility, and whether independent studies on noise, air emissions, water use and battery safety have been completed. "None of their calculations include the noise," a commenter said, and multiple speakers asked for a moratorium until health and environmental studies are finished.
Commissioners did not take immediate public action on Project Tango during the forum; the public record of comments will be entered for the board's consideration. Several residents said they will press for code language changes to ensure similar projects are evaluated under heavy-industrial standards and for binding conditions if the county allows the project to proceed.
