Clinton Mayor William Purdie issued the following statement.
There is substantial and understandable public interest in a recently approved project in the Clinton Industrial Park. While some construction activities to rehabilitate the building have begun, the project developer is in ongoing negotiations about some aspects of the project, which is why no public announcement has been made. While there are limits on what may be shared at this point, the city does want to address a few of the concerns that have been raised. Many of the concerns seem to stem from the recent news coverage regarding the xAi project in Southaven, MS and the associated noise and air pollution complaints. The project proposed in Clinton is fundamentally different. The Southaven project involves a new, temporary power plant installed using dozens of gas turbines for generating electricity. As we understand it, these turbines run constantly and are responsible for those noise and air concerns. The proposed Clinton project does not involve a power plant and will use power supplied by Entergy through the existing power grid, negating the concerns seen in Southaven. The proposed location is deep within an established industrial area, well removed from residential neighborhoods. This project would be subject to the same standards and expectations as the other industrial and manufacturing operations currently operating in the industrial park. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the potential for this project to affect electric utility rates. The Legislature has enacted regulations protecting rate payers from bearing costs associated with this type of project. With respect to other utilities, this project will use no potable water for cooling purposes. In operation, the only potable water consumption will be to support standard office administration, i.e. restrooms and breakrooms. It has also been suggested that the city will realize little economic benefit from this project. Nothing could be further from the truth. This will be the largest economic development project in the history of the City and Hinds County and will inject millions of dollars per year directly into not only the City of Clinton’s budget, but also additional millions yearly into the budget of the Clinton Public School District, as well as that of the county. It cannot be overstated the effect these revenues will have on the city and school district’s ability to enhance our quality of life and education, and to strengthen the services we provide to our citizens. While many of the concerns raised are certainly understandable, particularly in light of situations in other places, please rest assured the top priority of everyone in city government is, and always will be, our citizens. Most residents, when assessing the extensive benefit to our city and schools, will recognize this project as a massive economic development victory which will propel Clinton into our next prosperous chapter.
45 comments:
More than Continental Tire?
three words:
classified
government
surveillance
"This will be the largest economic development project in the history of the ____________ and will inject millions of dollars per year directly into not only the ____________ budget, but also additional millions yearly into the budget of the _____________, as well as that of __________. It cannot be overstated the effect these revenues will have on the ______________ ability to enhance our quality of life and education, and to strengthen the services we provide to our citizens."
I've seen this movie many times before. It sucks.
“ While many of the concerns raised are certainly understandable, particularly in light of situations in other places, please rest assured the top priority of everyone in city government is, and always will be, our citizens. Most residents, when assessing the extensive benefit to our city and schools, will recognize this project as a massive economic development victory which will propel Clinton into our next prosperous chapter.”
Is this one of the data centers where they will put a small nuclear reactor to power it?
Isn't that the former AC Delco factory site? Good for them to find a use for it.
I'm all for the money being invested into the state. However, these data centers are gargantuan energy hogs. Given our state's history of very large inducements to industry coming to Mississippi, I hope Entergy doesn't jack up the consumer costs to supplement the industry costs.
Follow the money.
Entergy says the data centers will pay for the power. But when they have to go to the grid for more power the fuel surcharges will hit everyone. It’s a shell game.
According to a google search and the articles at the time of Continental Tires entry into Hinds County and beside Clinton, it is a 1.4 billion dollar investment with 2,500 jobs
Ridgeland just built a water tower for Amazon Data Center. And everyone's water bill increased by 20%. Plus the annual increases went from 2% a year to 3% a year.
I am speaking from personal experience…do not trust power company. Cooperative Energy said they needed 100’ easement through my property for power lines.Eminent Domain granted by PSC without discussion with land owners. Coop energy took 250’ swath through my property, saying they have the right to protect the easement. Bottom line.. don’t EVER trust power company or PSC to be transparent in their dealings.
This is the architecture for the permanent surveillance state and once they turn up the volume on social instability you’ll conform out of sheer survival just as we’ve seen in systems like the social-credit model in China. Crazy to think that it's already obsolete before they break ground. Space is the final frontier for the data center according to Musk.
That building has been empty since at least 2002, maybe longer.
3…2…1… insert rolling power blackouts due to strained power grid
Ironically, Entergy sent out a poll a few weeks ago regarding consumer concerns and messaging regarding data centers. Makes sense now.
I hope Clinton knows what they are doing. I am afraid that city municipalities are not equipped to deal with big corporations especially in Mississippi. They do not have the skills needed to do their due diligence. In negotiations, it is a zero sum game and the other side always wants it tilted their way. I am afraid the other side is smarter than the negotiators in Clinton. The corporation knows their project inside and out. It is up to ur leaders to find the holes in the project and they are a generalist on the topic. I question their intelligence since it is a known fact that politicians thrive on power. The repercussions of having big projects in Clinton could tilt a lot of services. Water and electricity are limited resources and could tilt their ability to distribute to the people of the city in a reliable manner when big projects come online and when the project itself goes offline. Electricity needs steady flows not disruptions. Data centers need consistent power. When electric company has issues, these centers go offline and rely on their own energy. It can be disruptive. Their are always conflicts of interest that need to be tied down. How many conflicts of interest did the city decision makers miss in their negotiations? As an investment professional, we had to be careful. Wall Street tried to woo us with crap the rest of the country did not want or else it was yesterday’s new idea that no longer worked. I am afraid Mississippians get wooed to much while the corporations eat our lunch. U cannot have an ego nor be ignorant on the issues when u negotiate. Otherwise, u will be proud cutting the ribbon for the grand opening but dealing with the problem years down the road. Check out Virginia. Their power companies are already operating in emergency mode when projects voluntarily go offline which makes the power structure more vulnerable. This will be interesting to watch. So far, my money is on the corporation. They have all the knowledge of the project and this is not their first rodeo. Plus they know the weaknesses of the city before they open their mouth. I am glad I am an outsider looking in now.
I love a good conspiracy theory in the morning; it reminds me of victory.
"Digital Concentration Camp"
Nice word play on no “potable” water being used. How much nonpotable water (that could have gone through standard treatment and filtration processes to become potable) will be used daily? 300,000 gallons? 500,000 gallons? More?
I support the data centers locating in Mississippi . Data makes the world go round now.
Somebody at Hinds Economic Development needs to verify the actual jobs out there now. Some clawbacks might be called for.
Small town leaders = small time leadership
The #1 reason Mississippi and the SE in general is the hotbed for these data centers is 1) cheap land 2) cheap labor 3) cheap utilities 4-1million) gullible and easily persuaded politicians.
There's nothing like people in the poorest state in the country bitching about progress. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
A box full of wires with 3 humans is not econ. dev.
A city named after the Hildebeast and Slick Willie doesn't help. Also the word is out in the data center industry to set up shop in the deep south due to the naivete and hayseed culture that prevails in local government.
Not to worry because if that happens the goverment will fix it with an infusion of tax money into the power grid.
No big deal because I have a 22KW Generac standing by.
Carrington event anyone?
Article reposted on Ars Technica today from the Financial Times - https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/03/are-consumers-doomed-to-pay-more-for-electricity-due-to-data-center-buildouts/ "...residential electricity costs rose by 6 percent nationwide in February, compared with a year before, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
States such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which have clusters of data centers, reported bigger increases at 16 percent and 19 percent respectively."
The City's written statement makes the false claim that legislation was passed to protect ratepayers from data center-related increases. That is false.
Great wall of text, Batman!!!
Are you telling us these data centers aren't being built in other parts of the country??
Entergy getting fatter at us little guys expense.
All comments on this thread are here courtesy of a data center.
We live in a capitalist society. Build an energy company like Entergy and get fat like they do.
my question is, how do we posture ourselves to profit once this ai bubble bursts. because its going to.
I guess you thought Social media and cryptocurrency were bubbles? Here’s how it will work. First, it is not a bubble. The market is still determining the value of AI. Also, there are currently too many players competing for everyone’s AI dollars. Once one or two become dominant and the rest of the service providers are eliminated, then the market will settle the value of AI. If you don’t understand how markets work then you probably shouldn’t be investing. Maybe try sports betting or something.
For comparison, Virginia has almost 700 data centers, about a third of them owned by Amazon. Part of northern Virginia is called "Data Center Alley."
JJ post of 2026 so far.
No 10:25 am, they are only being built in the poor, stupid parts of the country. Case in point, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Exactly
Do people realize that all data centers are not created equal? Each one has a privately negotiated contract. It isn’t the data center that is bad. It is the terms we agree to that get us in trouble. The expertise needed to keep the project competitive is probably not being consulted because they are still doing things the same ole way. MS has a good ole boy system that is very much still alive and well. With this environment, Mississippians rarely tap into their intelligence because they get their way through power. The rest of the country knows that better than we do. They use that in their negotiations and win every time. And MS never knows they have been had. Because the person in charge has now been stroked and feeling good. MS and VA are known for being less educated, less cultured. When I worked, I actually used this to my advantage in my negotiations. I acted like an ignorant Mississippian and slipped through the back door to get ahead in negotiations. Ego is a weakness u see from miles away!!!
The Big Corporation will palaver with one official only, the mayor. The mayor goes to the board and tells the board what the Big Corporation demands. The board listens to the mayor’s reasonable-sounding readout. Discussion will be brief. At some point, one of the board members will say, “Well, guys, sounds like a no-brainer to me.”
A board member will then say “So moved,” which means “I propose we do whatever it is the mayor just said that Big Corporation told him to do.”
Several board members will bark “Second!” before the board member even finishes saying “So moved.” And the board will vote in unanimity to whatever it is Big Corporation demands. That’s the way Our Sacred Democracy works.
Post a Comment