Bessemer, in Jefferson County, Alabama, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on July 13, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
Bessemer, in Jefferson County, Alabama, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on April 21, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The records read: "Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 on November 18, 2025 to approve the Project Marvel data center on ~700 acres. The decision followed extensive community opposition. [Update 2026-07-14]: The Southern Environmental Law Center and Alabama… (datacentertracker.org)." "On April 21, 2026, the Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 (Donna Thigpen and Cleo King opposed) to rezone approximately 914 acres from agricultural to light industrial for the 'Project Marvel' hyperscale data center campus, expanding the… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | July 13, 2026 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org | |
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | April 21, 2026 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Jefferson County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Elsewhere in Jefferson County
Alabama context
Alabama has 14 documented local actions across 13 jurisdictions in this snapshot. There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Alabama in this snapshot.
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.