New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s company is stepping into the world of data centers with a major project that would cost more than $16 billion. The massive project is supposed to be completed by the year 2033.

“The estimated $16.75 billion project – which the developers note is ‘several times the $2.8 billion in assessed value of all property in Sutton today,'” the Boston Herald reported. “Would complete two buildings by 2029 and two more each year through 2033 in the small town, ultimately constructing what would become potentially the fourth-largest data center in the U.S.”

The fully constructed campus would use around 900 megawatts of electricity, according to a memo released by Town Manager Austin J. Cyganiewicz to the Select Board. There would be a total of 10 buildings in the data center campus. While the first two would generate around $10.4 million annually in property taxes by fiscal year 2031, and roughly $27.8 million per year by 2035 with all 10 buildings.

The proposal is backed by the United Global Packaging Group and The Kraft Group, both affiliated with Robert Kraft. The campus is proposed to be built in Sutton, which has a population of under 10,000.

“The proposal is tentative,” Cyganiewicz wrote in the memo. “No application has been filed, and important details on power, water, equipment and site impacts are still to come.”

Data centers have become a controversial topic in the world, mainly because of the environmental and human damage they cause in order to function and power artificial intelligence. From energy to water resources, data centers consume massive amounts of available resources to operate. The constant disturbance due to the noise from these centers is a common concern voiced by people.

However, developers have told the town that they are in talks with regional grid operator ISO New England to come up with new ways of making power for the data centers, one of which includes using treated wastewater for cooling.

But why does the company need the permission of the community living there?

Back in September, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order that required the data center developers to accept community benefit agreements with local cities and towns. According to her order, the new data centers have to take care of their own energy supply or pay a fee into a ratepayer protection fund that would return the amount to the ratepayers, per CBS.

“We can’t have a situation where data centers are consuming more energy that’s available on the grid at the expense of the rest of our businesses and our residents,” she said. 

This is going to be some risky business for Robert Kraft. Massachusetts already has a problem with the Markley Data Center in Lowell and residents. It is the largest data center in the state as of now. Lowell had passed a one-year moratorium on data centers, preventing their construction in the town. This will give the officials a leverage to review the zoning rules as well.

“The goal wasn’t to stop development, it was really to put everybody on a fair playing field and to protect the residents,” Lowell City Councilor Kim Scott told WBUR.

But Lowell and Sutton aren’t the only ones who are against the proliferation of data centers in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has an ongoing problem with AI data centers, and it isn’t stopping right away

The state of Massachusetts has been an avid supporter of halting data center planning for a few years. Just this year, the residents of Everett have put in efforts to block data centers from entering their city. Planning board member Stephanie McColaugh said that they were a “big red flag” and proposed a citywide ban on data centers, per WBUR.

“You’re stuck living with it,” she said. “So I think residents need to be vocal in their opposition and stop this from happening.”

Meanwhile, The Davis Companies, the site developer’s Chief Development Officer, Michael Cantalupa, didn’t put the project out of option in Everett.

Then there’s Southbridge, where residents slammed the idea of data centers during a town council meeting. One of the residents, Laurie Brennan, said that she wanted people to “just protect our community.”

Just like Lowell, Southbridge also has a one-year data center moratorium, which will go in action this November. However, Town Councilor Shelly Klein has issued a warning, per MassLive.

“The executive order can disappear as quickly as it appeared with the signing of a piece of paper, or a change in the administration,” Klein told MassLive. “Communities that rely on this order instead of working on their own local protections will be left with nothing when the political winds shift.”

As Sutton actively fights against data centers, trying to put a stop to Kraft’s $16 billion plans, it just shows that one of the many cities in the state wants to stay away from AI.