Festus Leads the Way In Growth & Innovation

More than $6 billion in private investment, plus $40 million over 10 years in community benefit payments, and no real estate property tax abatement. The project is expected to create approximately 1,000 construction jobs at peak and more than 200 permanent jobs with pay above the county average, with a focus on hiring local workers.

Our initial conceptual plan contemplated a 1-gigawatt campus, with 12 two-story buildings. We are choosing not to build that. Instead, our revised conceptual plan is approximately 600 megawatts, with 4 single-story buildings and larger setbacks from residential neighborhoods. We made these changes after hearing the community's concerns.

The nearest building sits about 1,200 feet from the adjacent property, more than three football fields away. The buildings are only one story tall and sit behind a preserved ridgeline and tree buffer. In addition to the trees we will be preserving, there will be significant landscaping, so most neighbors will not see the buildings.

We have updated our cooling system to be "closed loop," meaning it reuses the same water over and over instead of pulling in new water, and it produces little to no wastewater discharge. Any water usage or discharge will be  overseen by the City of Festus, Jefferson County Water Authority, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

No private wells will be utilized for this project.

We pay for our own power and equipment, not Festus residents. Missouri law requires data centers to cover their own energy costs. Large load customers also fund the transmission and generation upgrades that make power more reliable for everyone.

Our commitment: If the project’s electricity use exceeds 1 GW, we will fund a $3 million payment to the City for residential electric rate relief — applied as a direct credit on resident utility accounts.

A full sound study will be done before any permit is given. We will also conduct post-build confirmation studies and ongoing monitoring, per the Festus Data Center Ordinance, to ensure we meet or beat the City’s sound regulations.

All site lighting is required by the City of Festus to minimize glare, light trespass, and spillover onto adjoining residential properties.

In the Development Agreement, we committed to a voluntary buyout for the 12 homes that we anticipated could fall within 1,000 ft of the nearest active data center building. The buyout was proposed for FMV as of June 1, 2025 + 10%. We understand this proposal may have been confusing. Our current plan does not have any homes within 1,000 ft, but we are not only honoring the voluntary buyout of the 12 homes, we are recognizing the concerns raised regarding increased interest rates and costs to move.

Our new commitment: For the 12 homes referenced in the Development Agreement, we will honor the voluntary buyout proposal, and we will increase the buyout to FMV as of June 1, 2025 (or a later date at the resident’s election) + 15% and a $10,000 moving allowance to offset financing and moving costs. This program commences on the issuance of the first permit for the project and remains open for 36 months after issuance of an occupancy permit for a non-administrative data center building. 

We are preserving approximately 188 acres, more than half of the land. That protects trees, streams, and the ridge by Ashford Place.

The environmental study located gravesites in the preserved land. They will not be disturbed.

Multiple independent agencies review and regulate different aspects of the project, including:

• Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC)

• Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)

• Missouri Department of Natural Resources

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• Jefferson County Water Authority

• City of Festus

• Festus Fire Department