Residents tell Amherst board they oppose a 45 MW data center, cite water, power, noise and health risks

Multiple Amherst residents told the Zoning Board of Appeals they opposed converting the Nordson campus into a large data center and listed environmental and infrastructure concerns they said remained unanswered.

Deborah Pelton told the board that data centers can strain water resources and cited high water-use numbers presented by opponents. Residents repeatedly raised the 45-megawatt figure during public comment and asked where that energy and possible backup generation capacity would come from. "This proposed 45 megawatt data center would reportedly require more electricity than the entire city of Amherst currently uses," said Erin Gonzales, a lifelong Amherst resident. Speakers also raised noise, lighting, property-value and public-health concerns; Dr. Brandon Soltis testified that continuous low-frequency noise and diesel emissions can affect sleep, cardiovascular and respiratory health.

Residents asked for independent, enforceable technical documentation before any land-use change: specific peak and sustained power draw, how much makeup or blowdown water the cooling system would use, the number and fuel type of backup generators and independent noise and lighting measurements. Several speakers urged the board to delay or deny the variance until concrete engineering and environmental proofs exist.