An AI data-center campus on rural land north of the county.
On June 30, 2026, WKRG reported that the developer behind the site is Beacon Data Centers (also called Beacon AI Centers), a Calgary-based firm originated by the investment company Nadia Partners. Beacon describes itself as an "energy-first" AI-campus developer with a portfolio of more than ten campuses and roughly six gigawatts planned across Alberta, New Brunswick, Texas, California, Ohio, and Calvert, Alabama.1
The company has a 95-acre first-phase hub on a 650-acre industrial parcel between Highway 43 and Shepard House Road, near Calvert on the Mobile–Washington county line. A marketed listing for a same-area tract describes a high-voltage Alabama Power transmission line, a high-pressure natural-gas line, and Borrow Creek as a year-round water source, a heavier industrial profile than the Prichard site, though that listing has not been confirmed as the Beacon parcel. Beacon has since said the campus would draw municipal water from South Alabama Utilities rather than an on-site creek (below).1,2
In June the company published a public "Calvert Infrastructure Hub" page and held a June 17 open house that drew 50-plus residents; on July 3, NBC15/UTV44 relayed its figures to a wider audience. Beacon now puts the project at roughly $6 billion in initial construction across two buildings, the first targeted for 2027, on land it describes as managed timberland in an industrial corridor. Each of these is the company's own number, stated in its materials and not yet corroborated by any public filing.8,9
| Developer | Beacon Data Centers, backed by Nadia Partners (Calgary) |
| Project name | "Calvert Infrastructure Hub" (company name) |
| Use | AI / hyperscale data-center campus · two buildings, first targeted 2027 |
| Investment | ~$6 billion initial construction (company estimate) |
| Site | 95-acre hub within a 650-acre parcel, between Hwy 43 and Shepard House Rd |
| Power draw | Not publicly disclosed · Beacon's comparable Kern County, CA campus is 275 MW |
| Jobs | ~1,000 construction · ~250 permanent · avg. salary $115,000 (company figure) |
| Cooling | Company says "closed-loop, no evaporative cooling"; water from South Alabama Utilities |
| Status | Land under contract; no county vote filed yet |
| Decided by | Mobile County Commission (three members) |
The company's assurances, and the questions they leave open.
Beacon's public statements are quoted fairly below. Several of them are the same assurances Edged offered in Prichard. The test is not whether they are said, but whether they are in writing, binding, and enforceable before a vote.
"We've taken great care to design this project to ensure that any impacts to neighbors are eliminated or minimized."
"Minimized" is not a standard. Which impacts (diesel-generator emissions, noise, traffic, night light, water withdrawal) and against what measurable limits, in what enforceable document? None has been published.
"There won't be any utility bill increases for ratepayers."
A round-the-clock load at hyperscale can require new generation and grid upgrades. Who pays for them is decided in utility filings, not a press quote. If the load tops 150 MW, state law (SB270) may require Public Service Commission review of the utility's contract.
"Closed-loop cooling, to mitigate water use."
Closed-loop can be largely true on-site. Beacon now says South Alabama Utilities has confirmed 7,500 gallons/day of water and 7,500 gallons/day of sewer, "comparable to a small office building" — a company statement, not yet in any public filing. The open questions move upstream: the initial fill, glycol containment, and the water used off-site to generate the power the campus draws.
"The site is designed without backup diesel generators. As a result, there are no on-site emissions, smoke, or engine noise."
A 24/7 hyperscale campus still needs backup power. If not diesel, then what — batteries, gas turbines, on-site generation, pure grid reliance? None is disclosed. "Designed without" is a design intention, not a binding commitment; the same developer's Kern County, CA campus runs 15 × 2.5 MW of diesel. The question is which permit or agreement would bind the no-diesel promise. Nothing has been filed.
"Worst-case calculations predict noise at the property lines well below the allowable limit of 65 decibels… comparable to the noise of a household refrigerator."
Two different claims are presented as one: a household refrigerator is about 40 decibels; 65 decibels is closer to normal conversation. "Allowable limit" under what standard? Unincorporated Mobile County has no noise ordinance we have found. And the "worst-case calculations" have not been published. The ask is straightforward: release the sound study, and commit to follow-up readings once the site is running.
"Alabama Power confirms the energy this development needs already exists on their lines… No new power lines will go through the community… the project will not impact community energy bills."
Every part of this is attributed to Alabama Power by Beacon; no Alabama Power statement or filing is public. Beacon's own page adds that the cost structure is "subject to state regulatory oversight" — and if the load is 150 MW or more, that oversight is the SB270 Public Service Commission review. The way to settle it is to publish the utility agreement.
The company's environmental claims, quoted — with what still needs checking.
Beacon's Calvert page makes several environmental commitments. They are worth stating plainly, and each is a claim someone will eventually be able to check against a filing or an agency record. As of now, none has been independently verified.
Wetlands
Beacon says Phase 1 wetland impact is "reduced to less than half an acre… roughly 0.0007% of the property." Half an acre out of 650 acres is about 0.077%. A wetland impact of any size implies a delineation and, likely, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit — a public record to watch for.8
Gopher tortoises
The company says an endangered-species survey found gopher tortoises on the site and that a relocation plan is "being coordinated with USFWS," to a nearby sanctuary. Checkable later through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.8
Floodplain
Beacon says 565 acres (88%) sit outside the floodplain, while the new Highway 43 access road would cross floodplain, to be permitted with the County, ALDOT, and FEMA. Each of those permits is a public document.8
Key facts are still open, and we will not guess them.
A credible account says plainly what it does not yet know. These are the open items on the Calvert proposal as of July 4, 2026. Each is being run down; this page updates as answers are sourced.
How much power? Unconfirmed
Beacon has not made the Calvert megawattage public. For scale, its comparable campuses run 275 MW (Kern County, CA) to 400 MW+ (Alberta). It matters here: SB270 (§37-4-22.1, effective October 1, 2026) defines a "Large Load Data Center Customer" as a contract of 150 MW or more, which triggers Public Service Commission review that the pricing recovers the utility's incremental costs from the data center, a state-level check Prichard's small site never reaches.
What is the backup power? Unconfirmed
Beacon says the site is "designed without backup diesel generators." A round-the-clock hyperscale campus still needs backup power, and the company has not said what would provide it if not diesel. Nothing is disclosed, and the same developer runs 15 × 2.5 MW of diesel at its Kern County, CA campus. "Designed without" is a stated intention; the question is which permit or agreement would actually bind it.
Which county? Unconfirmed
WKRG describes the parcel as "along the Mobile County and Washington County line" near Calvert. Reporting treats it as northern Mobile County (most likely Commission District 1, Ludgood), but if any of the tract is in Washington County a second commission enters the picture.
Which parcel, and does the June 22 industrial-park petition cover it? Unconfirmed
No parcel number has been reported. On June 22, 2026 the Commission heard a petition to designate an industrial park, filed by David Wallace Rivers, Clearwater Land & Minerals LLC (a Wyoming land-assembly LLC registered in Alabama in December 2025), and Down Home Plantation LLC. The timing and structure fit the Beacon land, but no public document links them. It matters because Ala. Code §45-49-261.17 exempts a designated industrial park from the North Mobile County Planning & Zoning Commission (the one body with any zoning-style review over this Highway 43 corridor), routing the project into by-right site and building permits. Confirm by parcel ID.
What abatement is being sought? Watch agendas
Any tax abatement or infrastructure agreement must appear on a public County Commission agenda. None has been filed for Beacon as of July 4, 2026, and in Tom Green County, Texas, Beacon told commissioners it was "not seeking tax abatements," though whether that holds here is undocumented. The June 22 industrial-park designation would make a parcel eligible for an abatement but is not itself one.
Does the town boundary move? Unconfirmed
A 2026 law (HB 629) redraws the Town of Mount Vernon's limits. Whether it reaches this tract is unconfirmed; if it does, the decision could shift from the county to the town council.
There is no zoning here, so the levers are money, roads, and permits.
Unlike Prichard, this is not a city-council decision. The site is in unincorporated Mobile County, where there is no zoning. The county cannot deny a data center by refusing to rezone, because there is nothing to rezone. What the county and county-adjacent bodies do control are the real points of leverage:2,3
- ATax abatements: the biggest lever. A Chapter 9B / Act 2012-210 abatement of non-educational sales, use, and property taxes goes to the Commission and/or Industrial Development Board, and appears on a public agenda. This is the clearest chokepoint: what does the county give away, and what does it get in writing?
- BRoads & infrastructure: a 650-acre site off a two-lane road needs county road, access, and drainage approvals. All county-controlled, all public.
- CLand-disturbance & site permits: Planning & Development and Inspection Services issue the site and building permits, with stormwater standards.
- DState PSC review: if the load tops 150 MW, SB270 requires Public Service Commission public-interest review of the utility's contract.
The board has three members: two of three is a majority. Winning District 1 matters, but any county decision needs all three on the record, not one.3
However you feel, you should be the one deciding.
The Commission's Conference agendas are the early warning; an abatement or infrastructure item would surface there first. If you want to know when a Calvert item is scheduled, and how to speak during public comment, leave your details and we will tell you before the meeting.
Every claim, sourced.
- WKRG, "Residents raise concerns over proposed data center in northern Mobile County," 2026-06-30: names Beacon Data Centers, the 95-of-650-acre site, ~1,000/250 jobs, and quotes co-founder Joe Shovlin.
- National Land Realty, "Mount Vernon Borrow Creek … Data Center Development Site" (609± ac, under contract; transmission line, gas line, Borrow Creek), nationalland.com. Acreage differs from Beacon's 650; confirm parcel ID.
- Mobile County Planning & Development: "there is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Mobile County"; and "Meet the Commissioners" (Ludgood D1, Hudson D2 President, Dueitt D3), mobilecountyal.gov.
- Mobile County Commission, adopted Conference & Meeting schedule (Thu Conference → Mon Meeting, 10 a.m., Government Plaza), meetings & agendas.
- Nadia Partners / Businesswire and DatacenterDynamics: Beacon portfolio (10+ campuses, ~6 GW planned); Data Center Dynamics, "Canada's Beacon DC targets 275MW data center campus on California oil field," 2026-06-24 (Kern County 275 MW, 15 × 2.5 MW diesel; confirms Calvert in portfolio), datacenterdynamics.com.
- Mobile County Commission, Regular Meeting agenda, 2026-06-22: industrial-park designation petition (David Wallace Rivers, Clearwater Land & Minerals LLC, Down Home Plantation LLC), agenda PDF. Ala. Code §§45-49-261.01 & 45-49-261.17 (North Mobile County Planning & Zoning Commission jurisdiction on the US-43 corridor; industrial-park exemption), Justia.
- Alabama 2026 session: SB270 / Ala. Code §37-4-22.1 (PSC review of ≥150 MW "Large Load Data Center Customer" contracts, signed 2026-04-17); HB399 (data-center abatements capped at 20 years, >100 MW pay state taxes, signed 2026-04-17); HB 629 (Town of Mount Vernon limits). Reported via Alabama Reflector and Data Center Dynamics.
- Beacon Data Centers, "Calvert Infrastructure Hub" campus page (published 2026-06-12, updated 2026-06-30): project name, ~$6B initial construction, two buildings / first targeted 2027, ~250 permanent jobs at an average salary of $115,000, "designed without backup diesel generators," 1,000-ft setback / "below the allowable limit of 65 decibels," South Alabama Utilities confirmed 7,500 gal/day water + sewer, Alabama Power attributions, Phase 1 wetlands "less than half an acre," gopher-tortoise survey / USFWS relocation plan, 88% outside floodplain, June 17 open house. All figures are the company's own, uncorroborated by any public filing. beacondatacenters.com Snapshot to archive.org on each visit; the page was edited between June 12 and June 30.
- NBC15 / UTV44, Brad Gunther, "Proposed $6B data center campus in Calvert draws questions over growth, utilities, impact," 2026-07-03: TV coverage relaying the company page above ($6B, $115k, SAU water, wetlands, 2027). utv44.com
Items flagged as unconfirmed above are being verified before they are stated as fact. This page is updated as sources are confirmed.