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Small data center proposal draws questions on water and rates; Greenspark says cooling is closed‑loop
Summary
Greenspark described a proposed 2 MW data center that it says uses a closed-loop cooling system with minimal make-up water; residents asked if the project could strain water supplies and utility rates during low-flow periods; city staff pointed to a water‑shortage plan and existing nightly discharges from reservoirs.
Greenspark told residents the company targets small, stranded‑energy projects and said the Wrangell site (a 2 MW design referenced on the concept slides) would use a closed-loop cooling system and require little ongoing makeup water. "We use water once, and we don't require a constant flow of water," Greenspark's representative said when a resident asked whether a 2 MW facility would consume the equivalent of 2,000 homes.
City and utility officials responded with system context: the town currently has nightly chlorine-flush discharges at the end of one feeder and a water‑shortage management plan that is reviewed annually; staff said a 35‑gallons‑per‑minute commissioning/top‑off rate cited during the presentation is substantially less than the nightly dump volume and that the utility and Greenspark would plan to avoid impacts on households and processors. Residents pressed for clarity on priority sequencing in drought conditions; staff said the city's water‑shortage plan would be followed and that industrial curtailment could be required in acute shortages.
