Palm Beach County rejects decade old 'Project Tango' AI data center proposal

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Florida’s Palm Beach County commissioners have reportedly rejected an AI data centre expansion proposal. The county in which US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property is located has rejected the proposal to expand the long-running "Project Tango" development into a large AI-focused data center campus.

This move comes after a public hearing that lasted nearly 12 hours.

According to a report by Business Insider, the proposal was voted down 5-1 following months of opposition from residents who raised concerns about noise, water use, electricity demand and the project's proximity to homes and a nearby school. During the hearing, Commissioner Maria Sachs questioned sound experts as commissioners examined the potential impact of the project, which is roughly 20 miles away from Mar-a-Lago, on nearby communities before casting their votes.The decision affects a request by developer PBA Holdings Inc. to expand a previously approved development in Loxahatchee to about 3.6 million square feet, including more than 1 million square feet of data center space. Residents wearing green shirts reading "NO to Project Tango" attended the hearing, urging commissioners to reject the proposal, the report added. Meanwhile, the developer claimed that revisions had been made to address community concerns before the meeting.

Palm Beach County residents raised concerns over noise, power and water use

Palm Beach County residents who were opposing the project argued that the proposed AI data center would place additional pressure on local infrastructure while increasing noise levels near residential neighbourhoods and Saddle View Elementary School.On the NoToProjectTango.com website, opposition organizers wrote: "Not only is this AI Data Center a threat to the health, well-being, and safety of the hardworking, tax-paying residents of Palm Beach County and their families and children, it becomes a more extreme problem due to the fact that it will be constructed within 1,200 feet of Saddle View Elementary School and the preexisting Arden community and neighborhood."During the hearing, PBA Holdings project manager Ernie Cox said the completed development was projected to generate about $561 million in annual property tax revenue.Following the vote, Cox told a local NBC affiliate that the commission's decision would not affect approvals already granted for portions of the project."Well, that project goes forward. This vote doesn't have any effect on that," Cox said, referring to previously approved plans that include two 100,000-square-foot data center buildings.The county's decision does not prevent the developer from revising the proposal and submitting it again in the future.

AI data center projects face growing local opposition in US

The vote comes as AI-related data center construction continues across the US, with several projects facing resistance from local communities over environmental and infrastructure concerns.According to a research project Data Center Watch, at least 75 proposed data center projects worth an estimated $130 billion were delayed or blocked during the first three months of 2026 due to local opposition.Some states and municipalities have also taken action on future developments.

Earlier this week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order introducing a statewide moratorium on large-scale data centers.Reacting to that decision on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump wrote, "New York State has made a terrible decision.""Data Centers are tremendous WINS for the States and Communities that are lucky enough to get them. New York should change its Policy, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said, calling data centers "Money Machines.”