Data Center Gets Massive Tax Break in Surprise Vote by Lowndes Commission

Hayneville, Ala. -- The Lowndes County Commission hastily voted Tuesday to approve a 20-year tax abatement for Project Red Clay, a proposed 800-acre hyperscale data center.  

The approval follows public outcry over the lack of transparency around the project, and concerns raised around compliance with the Open Meeting and Open Record laws that allow for greater accountability and public input. For several months, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), alongside concerned residents, called for project details to be made public. 

The agenda for the Lowndes County Commission's regular meeting on Tuesday included a resolution to call a special meeting later this month to consider the 20-year abatement for Project Red Clay, which amounts to a $2.4 billion tax giveaway. Instead, Commissioner Robert Harris moved to vote on the tax abatement itself, without public notice or time for public comment. The vote passed 3-2. 

"It is appalling that three of our county commissioners would vote to deprive the county of $2.4 billion in tax revenue," said resident John Urquhart. "I want to believe they are blinded by the enticement of the tax revenue. Commissioners completely ignored six months of vocal opposition from their constituents and shoved this approval through in an unethical manner."  

Cloverleaf is in the press saying they won’t ‘work in communities where this type of development is unwelcome.’ I don’t think there’s a place in this country where Cloverleaf is less welcome than Lowndes County,” said Lowndes County resident Adrian Johnson. “These developers have completely underestimated Lowndes County, thinking we would fall for their dubious claims. Cloverleaf has made it clear they do not respect our community, or way of life.” 

“For going on two years now, we’ve seen out-of-state developers force hyperscale data centers into Alabama communities where they are not wanted. We’ve seen local politicians do the bidding of big tech, while ignoring their constituents,” said Charles Miller, Policy Director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. “If this is ‘just how things are done,’ in Lowndes County or anywhere else in our state, something has to change in Alabama.” 

The data center is projected to bring in $124 million in local and state tax revenue annually. Construction on the project could start in early 2027.  

"The Lowndes County Commission serves the people first. But their continued underhanded, back door deals are fueling distrust in this project and in the commission," said Todd Gleason, senior litigating counsel for NRDC. "Officials have failed to provide substantive information about the data center and yet still voted to give a data center developer affiliated with the wealthiest company in the history of the world a multi-billion-dollar tax break without even knowing who the end-user of the data center will be." 

“What we witnessed on Tuesday was disgraceful. Lowndes County government officials have blatantly discouraged public access and input into such a consequential decision that will impact generations to come,” said Ryan Anderson, Staff Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Residents deserve far better than unchecked claims of economic benefit and backroom deals when a decision of this magnitude is made on their behalf.” 

“The vote in Lowndes County represents a larger trend in the state and in the County to leave the people most impacted out of the decisions and force data centers into places that are already bearing the brunt of environmental and climate harms,” said Abre’ Conner, NAACP Director of Environmental and Climate Justice. “This comes for the vague possibility of economic gain. The reasonable questions that residents want to understand is regarding the environmental impacts, and the County refuses to respond despite its legal duty to do so. If the community’s life span decreases because of empty promises of a better future, does the County believe that justifies rewriting clear open meeting act rules? We will fight to ensure that fossil fuel infrastructure is not forced into places without even a fair opportunity for meaningful engagement.”  

Background:  

Project Red Clay is a proposed 800-acre hyperscale data center campus on farmland in Lowndes County, Alabama, near the junction of U.S. Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21 at Burkville, roughly six miles southwest of Montgomery – along the historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights Trail.  

The project developer estimates that there would need up to 100,000 gallons of water per day from the Pintlala Water System; and is requesting 1.5 GW of energy –the equivalent of around 900,000 residential homes in Alabama.  

The developer has not disclosed exactly how wastewater from their proposed project would be treated. If built, the project would be located in a community where up to 80 percent of residents lack a reliable sewage system in their homes. This is not a county with surplus water, power, or sewer capacity waiting to be put to use. Lowndes County draws national and international attention for its sanitation crisis. 

The company behind the project, Houston-based Cloverleaf Infrastructure, incorporated in 2024. An end user for the proposed site has not been disclosed. If built, the project would be approximately four times the size of Meta’s existing facility 12 miles away in Hope Hull, Montgomery County. By proposing to site this hyperscale data center in Lowndes County, Cloverleaf made a decision that ignores, rather than remedies, decades of disinvestment.  

For more information, go to https://protectlowndescounty.org/ 

Established in 1970, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Our team of more than 800 lawyers, policy experts, scientists, economists, and communications specialists work across the United States and around the world, from offices in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Monica, as well as a representative office in Beijing and affiliate offices in New Delhi (through NRDC’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, NRDC India Private Limited) and London (through its UK-based partner NRDC International). 

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 250, including more than 160 legal and policy experts and advocates, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, DC. 
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The NAACP advocates, agitates, and litigates for the civil rights due to Black America. Our legacy is built on the foundation of grassroots activism by the biggest civil rights pioneers of the 20th century and is sustained by 21st century activists. From classrooms and courtrooms to city halls and Congress, our network of members across the country works to secure the social and political power that will end race-based discrimination. That work is rooted in racial equity, civic engagement, and supportive policies and institutions for all marginalized people. We are committed to a world without racism where Black people enjoy equitable opportunities in thriving communities.