A stretch of wooded land along Old Amston Road in Colchester, Connecticut, known for its trails, could soon give way to two data center buildings under a proposal that is already drawing pushback from residents ahead of a town hall discussion. The developer behind the plan has described it as an early-stage project, but neighbors are not waiting to voice concerns about traffic, noise, water use, lighting and permitting.
According to WFSB, the proposal calls for one building providing rack space backed by five megawatts of power, alongside a second, 20,000-square-foot data center building also carrying five megawatts of capacity. The station reports that Colchester's Planning and Zoning Commission has already discussed traffic, noise, water use, lighting and permitting concerns, and that the project still requires review from the Connecticut Siting Council before it can move forward — meaning, per the station, that any actual construction remains years away and is not a done deal.
The developer behind the plan, ReNew Developers, filed under the name CMMD LLC and requested a preliminary review from the town's Planning and Zoning Commission in September for a zone change on 17.15 acres at 42 Old Amston Road, according to the Stamford Advocate. The outlet reports the plan includes two technology buildings featuring fuel cell generation, carbon capture pads and attached hydroponics facilities — layout details that go beyond the data center specs discussed at the local commission level.
A Site With Years of State-Level Groundwork Already Laid
ReNew Developers has partnered with operator Gray Wolf Data Centers to market the same Old Amston Road site under the project name ReNew Amston 2, offering 5 megawatts of behind-the-meter fuel cell power, the company states on its own listings page. That branding signals the developer is already courting potential buyers even as local zoning review remains in its early stages.
State approval for fuel cell power at the site is not new. The Connecticut Siting Council issued a declaratory ruling back in October 2022 under Petition No. 1533, approving a 4.99-megawatt Bloom Energy fuel cell facility at 42 Old Amston Road to supply roughly 99 percent of a proposed data center's base load, according to a Siting Council staff report hosted on CT.gov. The same staff report says the facility would have no water discharge under normal operating conditions — a detail that speaks directly to the water-use questions commission members have raised.
Town Hall to Give Residents a Formal Say
Colchester First Selectman Bernie Dennler reported on October 2 that the developer's September preliminary review had generated significant public interest, prompting town leadership to lay out formal public comment channels ahead of any binding votes, per the town's own report on colchesterct.gov. Residents can submit public comments at town hall meetings or write the commission a letter for the record; WFSB reported that residents packed a town hall Tuesday night. The town hall gave Colchester residents a chance to weigh in and learn more about a project still in its early stages.
The financial incentives driving interest in Connecticut data centers are substantial. Under the state's Public Act 21-1, passed in 2021, data center operators investing at least $200 million — or $50 million in designated enterprise zones — can qualify for 20- to 30-year exemptions from local property and state sales taxes, subject to a host municipality fee agreement, according to the Connecticut General Assembly. More recently, the legislature enacted Public Act 26-122 in June, deleting the statutory provision establishing the Department of Economic and Community Development's Office of Data Infrastructure Administration and Security, making the department the liaison, and amending the purpose of the annual fee, according to DataCenterData.
Colchester Joins a Statewide Pattern of Fuel Cell Projects and Pushback
Colchester Joins a Statewide Pattern of Fuel Cell Projects and Pushback Off-grid, fuel cell-backed data center proposals are not unique to Colchester. A 4-megawatt Bloom Energy fuel-cell installation is linked to the Bristol Technology Center in Bristol, according to MLQ Infrastructure, suggesting the model proposed for Old Amston Road has precedent elsewhere in the state. Community resistance has followed a similar pattern beyond Colchester, too — in Cromwell, residents have opposed a separate data center proposal, raising concerns about electricity and noise.
State Senator Norm Needleman, whose 33rd District includes Colchester, serves as Senate Chair of the Energy and Technology Committee and has led legislative efforts to tighten utility oversight and grid regulations statewide, according to HK Now. For now, no formal zoning application has been approved in Colchester, and the project remains, as WFSB notes, in its early stages — leaving the balance of state energy incentives against local land-use control as the central question for residents heading into Wednesday's meeting.
