Verrus is further along in getting a data center project approved in Michigan and faces similar resistance to its efforts in Salem. The California company seeking to build a 75-acre data center in southeast Salem is also pursuing a much larger project in Michigan. There, it has already cleared a key hurdle but remains locked in a dispute with local officials. Verrus received unanimous conditional approval for Project Flex from Lyon Township’s Planning Commission in September. The Michigan campus would have six buildings — the proposed Salem project would have three. Lyon is a community of 25,000 about 45 miles northwest of Detroit.  Since that approval, Verrus has submitted three versions of its site plan, withdrawing a fourth before it went to review in mid-July. In its third submission, Verrus included a letter from a lawyer arguing the company had met all required conditions and that the third plan would be its last. Township officials disagreed. Their zoning consultant company, McKenna, said the plans still had unresolved problems, including a missing professional seal, questions about rooftop fire access, inconsistencies in drainage plans and lighting levels five times greater than what the zoning rules allow. SIGN UP: “I love and respect what Salem Reporter does for our community.” Salem Reporter covers the people, issues, and stories shaping our city. Stay connected to Salem. Subscribe today. “None of the three iterations of the Final Site Plan that have been submitted to date have achieved full compliance with the Township’s ordinances,” township officials wrote. Reviewers recommended the planning commission ask Verrus whether the third submission was truly intended as final, and if so, consider revoking its earlier approval. Project Flex has seen pushback from residents of Lyon Township, who have formed a volunteer organization to fight the project’s construction. Residents have urged township leaders to halt the data center. Main issues raised by speakers at recent township board meetings primarily included the project feeling rushed and concerns about the noise and water usage. Approximately 200 people watched a June 8 township board meeting online, with many others outside as public testimony went on, according to meeting minutes.  Public testimony against Project Flex has been a regular topic during the township’s board meetings since the start of this year as the project remains ongoing.  Residents in Lyon Township have pushed back against the project much as Salem residents did at a recent Salem City Council meeting. Lyon Township approved a six-month moratorium on new data centers in March. The action doesn’t apply to Project Flex, which was already in the pipeline. In Salem, Verrus’ Oakline at Mill Creek project could be halted because the company has yet to submit an application, if a moratorium is approved by officials.  Verrus officials said they were disappointed to learn Thursday that Gov. Tina Kotek had blocked the sale of 32 acres of stateland that the company was under contract to buy. The state parcel is about half of the land needed for the Verrus project. The other parcel, also about 32 acres immediately adjacent to the state land, is owned by Scannell Properties, an Indiana real estate development and investment company, county records show. For both projects, Verrus highlights its strategies to achieve fewer emissions, lower water use and quieter equipment than is typical with data centers. A closed-loop cooling system, which recirculates water rather than evaporating it, means significantly lower water consumption compared to the average data center, the company said. The cooling equipment is also expected to be quieter because it relies for backup power on batteries  rather than diesel generators. Other data centers in Oregon, including most in Hillsboro, use this closed-loop cooling system, according to the city of Hillsboro.  Verrus surprised, disappointed by Kotek’s move to block sale of 32-acres of land at Mill Creek Corporate Center  Water and cooling According to its Michigan plans, Verrus intends to use adiabatic cooling. Water is evaporated and energy released during that process is absorbed. That in turn reduces the temperature of the air circulating through the center which combats the heat generated by information technology equipment, according to Verrus. Evaporated cooling systems, in comparison, typically use a lot more water because the evaporation process leaves behind minerals that must constantly be flushed out, according to a Verrus presentation. The Michigan site is projected to use nine million gallons of water a year. Verrus Project Flex documents said the cooling system can minimize energy consumption needed to cool the electronic equipment, lowering demand on the power grid. The only water being used outside of the closed loop system are seasonal spray misters that will operate on extremely hot days. Verrus estimates those systems will operate less than 15 times a year. This system discharges that to the municipal sewage system but produces less wastewater than eight households combined per year, according to the site plan. Power Both proposed data centers are said to have an interactive relationship with power grids, indicating that during periods when the grid is in peak stress the center will reduce its power needs.  Project Flex will be powered by the existing power grids and power plants will rely on battery energy storage during peak times, according to a Lyon Township webpage. Verrus’ Salem project, similarly, utilizes current power systems and claims it will ultimately lower utility rates. As a result of Oregon’s POWER Act, the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved an almost 30% hike in rates for Portland General Electric large energy users, including data centers. Any project that uses over 20 megawatts of power would be charged at the higher rate. Using a battery energy storage system rather than diesel generators as backup aims to reduce air emissions. Each building on the Project Flex campus will have 72 of these batteries for a total of 432, according to the township’s website. The estimated total demand of power for Project Flex 2027 is 200 megawatts, extending up to 525 megawatts as the campus is built out, according to a Verrus presentation. One megawatt can power about 796 northwest homes in one year, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The battery system stores energy into rechargeable batteries for later use as a backup power source during peak usage times. Sound Verrus said that the cooling equipment it intends to use will be quieter than that used at other data centers. Major sources of noise come from chiller units, exhaust fans  and electricity transformers. The study also measured sound for emergency generators that aren’t used during regular operations. Verrus submitted a study in Michigan showing that when only the chillers, fans and transformers are in use, sound at the nearby properties was found to be below 50 decibels. Lyon Township’s sound ordinances enforces a noise limit of 60 decibels during the day and 50 at night.  In a review of the sound study, sound engineers working for the planning commission found it incomplete. Ambient sound measurements and information about tonal characteristics of the equipment were missing or inadequately addressed, according to the review. The review indicated that in some circumstances sound would exceed permitted levels. “The current study does not provide a sufficient basis to conclude that the proposed development will comply with applicable noise requirements or avoid creating a noise disturbance,” the review says. As of July 31, Verrus had yet to submit another site plan for the Michigan project, according to Lyon Township’s public document website. RELATED COVERAGE: Planning commission recommends council change code to make data centers conditional City manager calls special council meeting Monday to consider moratorium on data centers Proposed data center draws tremendous blowback at Monday night’s council meeting UPDATE AT 12:33 a.m.: Salem council votes to explore banning NDAs with data center companies Salem councilor pitches ban on NDAs, new task force around data center developments Salem’s proposed data center faces months of review. Here’s how you can weigh in Reporter Joe Siess contributed reporting. Contact Reporter Reilly Norgren: [email protected] The post While Salem project is uncertain, Verrus advances data center in Michigan appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less