Just a couple of days remain until a meeting to discuss a proposed data center at the former Tonawanda Coke plant on River Road.
The Town of Tonawanda Planning Board meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kenmore-Tonawanda Municipal Building on Delaware Avenue.
Ultimately, the final decision should rest with residents, Congressman Tim Kennedy said during an unrelated event in Western New York.
“It all comes down to the community. What does the community want? I think the community needs to be front and center, giving input. The government leaders that are working closely with the community members have to have those conversations, bring the community in, and make sure that whatever is done at that site is reflective of the desire and the need for the community.”
One major concern is how much electricity the site would use, said Bridge Rauch, an environmental justice organizer with the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York.
“It's a problem, and it needs to be like we need action by local, state, and federal regulators to reign this, this sector in," they said. "Because otherwise, like it's, things are things are things are hurting people already, and it's just going to get worse without action."
The 500,000 square-foot campus is estimated to need about 300 megawatts of electricity, potentially stressing the local electric grid beyond capacity.
The project also could be put on hold if New York passes a moratorium, which would provide more time to do an environmental impact study, Rauch said. They add that using the site as a battery storage facility for solar power could be a good alternative.
