2.16.23 NE Edge Proposes 1.5M Square Foot Data Center at Millstone in Waterford

NE Edge Proposes 1.5M Square Foot Data Center at Millstone in
Waterford
— Brendan Crowley, 2.16.2023
NE Edge has proposed constructing two data center buildings at
Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford (Image: NE Edge)
WATERFORD – Dominion Energy will host a more than 1.5 million
square foot data center complex on its Millstone Nuclear Power
Station property if the town approves an agreement where
developer NE Edge would pay $231 million over 30 years instead of
property taxes.
The proposal is the latest plan for a data center in eastern
Connecticut after state lawmakers in 2021 exempted large data
centers from local property taxes if they can agree on a fee to pay
the municipality instead. 
Data center developers have said the warehouse-sized networks of
computers and servers are sorely needed in the Northeast to
lower latency – or delay – in accessing information from cloud
networks. Several data center proposals in the area have faced
fierce opposition from local residents concerned with noise and the
impact of development, including NE Edge proposals
in Bozrah and Groton.
In a letter to the town, NE Edge Manager George McLaughlin III
described plans for two data center buildings: one with two 568,000
square foot stories, and another with two 214,000 square foot
stories – a total of more than 1.5 million square feet for cloud and
data storage servers.
For the larger building, NE Edge is proposing to pay Waterford $3.5
million a year for 30 years increasing 2 percent every year, plus a
$10 million payment when the building receives its building permit,
and five $6 million payments made every five years through 25

years.
For the smaller building, NE Edge is proposing to pay $1,312,500 a
year increasing 2 percent every year, plus a $3.75 million payment
after receiving a building permit, and five $2.25 million payments
made every five years.
For a 30-year agreement like the one proposed between NE Edge
and Waterford, the developer has to invest at least $400 million in
the project to qualify for the tax break under state law. McLauglin
said the project would create nearly 2,000 construction jobs and
150-200 permanent jobs.
First Selectman Rob Brule said in a release that the project would
bring long term benefits to Waterford. 
“We are encouraged to see our largest taxpayer reinvest in our
community,” Brule said. “This particular collaboration will
undoubtedly benefit every taxpayer in the Town of Waterford, not
only today, but for generations to come.”
In a statement, State Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, whose
district includes Waterford, praised the proposed deal for bringing
new business to the town.
“This project will provide long-term benefits for Waterford and its
neighbors, infusing new opportunities for business growth into the
area,” Marx said.
So far, the developers have targeted towns with municipal electric
utilities to avoid paying high prices to Eversource and United
Illuminating for the massive amounts of electricity the data centers
use. In Waterford, the proposed data centers would draw power
directly from the nuclear plant, according to a news release from
the town.
“Dominion Energy is exploring this opportunity with NE Edge to
help respond to a critical data infrastructure need in our state,”
Millstone Site Vice President Michael O’Connor said in the release.
“The data center’s need to find a suitable site and the availability of

space on Millstone Power Station property make this a potentially
beneficial partnership for Dominion Energy.”
McLaughlin said the project would give Dominion two “substantial
new energy customers” with a reliable base load that could
help keep the plant open if its license is extended.
The Board of Selectmen and Representative Town Meeting will
consider the proposed agreement between Waterford and NE Edge
over the next several weeks, according to the release.
If the agreement is approved, the project will go through planning
and design and seek local, state and federal approval for its plans
over the next year, according to the release.
Brendan Crowley 
Brendan Crowley covers energy and the environment for CT
Examiner. T: 860 598-0050
 b.crowley@ctexaminer.com