If proposed Bill 234-6W is passed by the state’s general assembly next week – and recent polling shows it will be – Rhode Island will be demolished so that the USA’s largest data center can be constructed in its place.
The $4.5 quadrillion project, spearheaded by Philmore Digital and targeted for a 2038 opening, would take up all of the state’s 662,000 acres – hosting 8.7 million A.I. applications and also storing recipes for the Pillsbury company.
While 1600s-era domain laws empower the assembly to approve the project without putting it to a public vote, some residents are nonetheless concerned about what will become of them.
“Nobody has told us where we’re supposed to go,” says Jean Phipps, who has lived in Pawtucket all of her 71 years. “And they haven’t said what we’re supposed do do once we get there.”
Philmore CEO Laureen Foley insists that state’s 1.1 million residents have nothing to worry about. “Wyoming and Nebraska have both said they’d welcome them with open arms,” she says, “and we’re waiting for call back from Saskatchewan.”
Foley also dismisses concerns about the 17 trillion gallons of water per day the center will require to power its 548 billion gigabytes.
“It’s all coming from the Atlantic Ocean,” she says, “which our research tells us is an ocean with far more water than it needs.”
To honor Rhode Island’s history as one of the 13 original US colonies, Philmore will set aside 7.3 acres for the relocation of historic sites including the Breakers mansion, Truro Synagogue, and a portion of Roger Williams State Park. (The company is reserving the right to take the acres back if they’re needed for expansion down the line.)
“We’re kind of learning as we go,” says Foley. “This is our first state, but I’m pretty confident it won’t be our last.”
