A Facebook data center is closer to being established as officials make a decision on on-site water supplies and wastewater.
The Nashville Business Journal reports that a company calling itself Woolhawk LLC is eyeing a potential 225-acre plot for a $750m data center in Gallatin, Tennessee, 30 miles northeast of downtown Nashville.
On May 5, the Gallatin City Council voted on a resolution giving permission for the city to enter into a water and sewer contract with Woolhawk LLC.
The project was confirmed as a data center on page 26 of the agenda document, which reveals "a multi-year large scale project… with uses of one or more data centers.”
How do we know its Facebook?
In January, the Nashville Business Journal reported that Facebook was using Woolhawk as a code name, with the social media and advertising company often hiding behind corporate shells when negotiating new data center developments.
The facility also has Facebook's typical H-shape in planning documents, and the company's facilities usually cost $750m.
The new filing outlines what will be done to prevent or limit stormwater pollution and erosion during construction. The filing itself does not mean the data center project is certain to happen.
Facebook has not formally announced the Gallatin project. A date has been set for when building work can begin, July 1, but Facebook has paused other data center construction projects during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The data center, if built, will be located near the end of Gateway Drive, just east of gunmaker Beretta's manufacturing plant.
Making it official
According to the resolution, Facebook asked for access to the area's water system at a cheaper or more "appropriate" rate.
Talking to local news broadcaster Fox17, Gallatin's Mayor Paige Brown could not confirm whether the company behind the request was Facebook but made clear the "customer" wanted assurances before confirming their identity.
She told Fox: "This is a water and sewer contract so it is just one component that is going through an approval process. There is annexation and rezoning coming through too, as well as various other agreements that have to be worked through.
"The city has no official confirmation of the name of the company. They need to ensure that their pursuit of approval is positive before they confirm."
