Groton Town Council and NE Edge's data center proposal

NE Edge, a new company, formed by Thomas Quinn, the former CEO of GotSpace, is proposing the development of at least one data center at Flanders Road, just south of Interstate 95. Moreover, not content with the speed at which the proposal was advancing, the company convinced Groton Town Council to hold a special meeting to vote on an agreement that is yet to be finalized, the host municipality fee agreement. This vote is expected to take place on March 15, and is a decision that five of the nine councilors agreed to.

Under the proposed agreement, NE Edge would pay Groton $500,000 a year for every building with a capacity of fewer than 16 megawatts. Likewise, $1 million a year would be paid for each building with a capacity between 16 and 32 MW, and $1.5 million a year for each with a capacity larger than 32 MW. That said, regardless of whether or not the agreement is voted to go ahead, permits and approval from Planning and Zoning would still be required before the plans actually take shape.

Giving no indication of which way the vote could swing, speaking to the CT Examiner, Mayor Juan Melendez said: “We could vote it down, we could vote it up, we could not vote.” That said, Councilor Portia Bordelon argued that both the council and the public needed more time to look over and review the document and that the council shouldn’t bow down to pressure from the developer. She outlined that the public needed a chance to have their say, especially considering that locals had voiced opposition to the proposed development.