Delaware Government Approves Data Center Grant

Lawmakers in Delaware added a grant of $7.5 million to the state's budget at the end of June for a potential Middletown data center.

The project was proposed at the end of May by Cirrus Delaware, LLC., a colocation services provider based in the area. The company asked for the grant in order to build a 228,000-square-foot, 52.5-MW data center. The Middletown Technology Center, which would cost $350 million to build, would also create 125 full-time jobs once open and 2,000 jobs during construction.

This Delaware data center project is seen as controversial by many because of the 52.5 MW natural gas powered electricity generation plant that was included in the proposal. Citizens of Delaware are concerned about emissions and noise pollution, but company officials stress that they would fully comply with Middletown's noise ordinances.

Precedent exists for this kind of Delaware data center proposal. A similar project based on the campus of the University of Delaware was rejected in 2014. Last year's project included a larger 279-MW generator.

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