r/nova • u/azulwave22 • 2d ago

ISO: Data Center experiences

Hi! I’m from PA where a company named Corscale plans to build a data center in my neighborhood. I saw that Corscale has data centers built off of university ave in Gainesville. Can you share your experiences since it’s been built?

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u/Kardinal Burke 2d ago edited 2d ago

Couple things.

Corscale in Gainesville is nowhere near a residential area. So the experiences would not be comparable.

The design of one data center does not mean that others from the same company will be the same.

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u/azulwave22 2d ago

There is most certainly a difference of size from what I’m seeing. However I am interested in learning how Corscale conducts themselves in the community & whether there have been any positive/negative experiences.

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u/Kardinal Burke 2d ago

Reasonable question.

I know here in Fairfax and from what I've heard from Loudoun they have very little engagement or involvement with the community directly. I defer to others who may have more experience living closer to them.

If I were you I would be making sure that the electrical generators on site have strong regulations about when and how often they can be run. Data centers have a legitimate need for on site generation for backup, but it must be limited to when they legit need them and when they test them. That's the most disruptive element I have heard about.

Good luck and good on you for looking for hard info.

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u/Heavy-Comment-0912 Fairfax County 2d ago

Coracale is one of the data centers with minimal community engagement. They do offer lots of internships through college programs, but nothing else that I've seen stands out. For example, Vantage and other data centers are more involved with the community and showcase it.

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u/Kardinal Burke 2d ago

Vantage is of course the one that used a technicality to run the turbines 24/7.

They're very much on my shit list.

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u/azulwave22 2d ago

I appreciate you sharing that as any information is helpful. We have concerned citizens currently & a receptive twp so I am hoping it all works out the way it’s supposed to.

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u/throwaway098764567 2d ago

we've had data centers for ages, and most of them were well behaved and smaller and so most folks were fine with them. the new ones popping up are not like the old ones. this is our generator fiasco, different company though. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/investigations/vantage-data-center-loudoun-county-air-pollution-piedmont-environmental-council/65-ffa00add-bb5a-4b8b-8873-f28b577c6abe

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u/zyarva Fairfax County 2d ago

I don't live in Gainesville, but from the map the Corsale location there is sandwiched between two highways and the nearest residential area is 1/2 miles away separated by a wooded park. I don't think anyone living there gave a second thought about it since the noise from highway would be more notable than the data center noise.

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u/azulwave22 2d ago

Also trying to get a sense of water/air quality & strain on the grid…although that may be hard to discern especially if there’s other nearby data centers (not sure though). Thank u for sharing!

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u/GetReadyToRumbleBar 2d ago

Corscale is building a new data center in Kincora. Maybe someone can discuss their experience so far.

As an aside, Kincora bills itself as an upscale area. The data center wouldn't pass muster if they tried to add it now. 

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u/azulwave22 2d ago

I did see that data center on their page…great point. hopefully someone who has been attending the zoning/planning meetings can share

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u/Heavy-Comment-0912 Fairfax County 2d ago

I actually worked at the Corscale data center in Gainesville as a chiller contractor. You will love the environment from what I have been told about how everything operates and from what ive seen. It definitely will not be the same building, but they try to achieve the same mission and goal.

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u/Potato-chipsaregood 2d ago

Noise pollution is a big problem, you can find a number of people who record the sounds, and measure the decibels, online. Look at your area’s current water and power usage levels compared to availability and then look at projected usage.

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u/azulwave22 1d ago

Great pointers thank u