Marie Barnes moved to rural Lowndes County four years ago.

When Marie Barnes moved to rural Lowndes County four years ago, she didn’t expect a massive artificial intelligence data center to be built just 800 feet from her home. So Barnes, a retired Marine, chose to spend her Wednesday evening parked in her lawn chair outside the local middle school to protest Project Red Clay. Inside the school’s cafeteria, Cloverleaf Infrastructure executives were touting their plans for the $1.5 billion development and answering residents’ questions. Barnes didn’t want to hear it. “How is that going to help us?” she said. “We want them out of our neighborhood. Out of our state, actually. Ask them, would they put it in their own backyards?” She relocated four years ago from Prattville, after the city got too crowded for her liking and she wanted a quieter community. Now, she’s concerned about how the data center will impact her quality of life, plus that of local wildlife. “I’m 66, and I don’t give a damn,” she said. “This is where I plan to die. I’m not moving again.” About 50 people gathered outside Hayneville Middle School located in the county seat to protest the developer, quietly chatting and holding signs such as “Keep Lowndes County Wild.” Inside, dozens more residents, local officials and reporters filed into the cafeteria over the course of three hours. Explanatory posterboards lined the perimeter of the room, discussing the Houston-based company’s plans for water usage, noise and lighting standards, community benefits and other topics. Chief executive Dave Berry said the open house event is something the company holds in other communities where Cloverleaf proposes data centers. “Every community is different. Different histories, different cultural heritages,” Berry said. “These events are not to try to persuade people. It’s to have conversations with real human beings. I think the more we understand what’s on people’s minds, the better we can do developing it.” The room was loud with chatter, and a sea of color-coordinated shirts, almost uniforms. More than a dozen Cloverleaf executives were posted at their stations in navy polos with the company logo. Some local opponents wore white t-shirts with red lettering – “PROTECT LOWNDES COUNTY” – and others wore black t-shirts with a quote attributed to a Cloverleaf executive. Ann Burgwin Faulkner, a lifelong county resident and local organizer with opposition group 45Strong, said she didn’t get an answer about the company’s previous promise. “Cloverleaf has stated that they would not come to communities where they’re unwelcome,” she said. “Look around. You’re not welcome.” Charlie King, Jr., who has led the Lowndes County Commission as chair for 20 years, said in an interview that the company only needs county permission for abatements. Lowndes County has no zoning, so any property can be developed for any purpose, he said. It’s a positive sign that Cloverleaf is participating with the county, he said, adding that residents need the economic boost, especially as many are leaving for jobs elsewhere. Lowndes County is part of Alabama’s Black Belt, with declining infrastructure and long commute times to distant job options that contribute to the region’s economic decay. “I want my people here to do better,” he said. “Lowndes County is bleeding. We need to stop that bleeding.” Cloverleaf states that Project Red Clay would generate $75 million in tax revenue for Lowndes County schools, plus another $115 million in county funds over two decades, tied to any future tax abatements. So far, the company hasn’t asked for those abatements, but they haven’t ruled it out, either. The company has also pledged $10 million to the Central Alabama Community Foundation, and the first million would be provided this year. The rest of the money would be tied to project milestones: $4 million with the Alabama Public Service Commission-approved contract for electric service, and then another $5 million within five years of the start of construction. While Hayneville itself is very small, the county population counts about 9,500 residents. More than 70% of them are Black, according to census estimates from 2025. One in four residents live in poverty, and life expectancy is 70.3 years, lower than the rest of Alabama. The county caught the attention of the federal government for its sanitation crisis, though that program to build functional sewer systems ended last year. The community, a historic site for civil rights, is also now up for a big change prompted by the redistricting by the Alabama Legislature which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week. This would shift Lowndes County from Democratic-majority District 7 to Republican-majority District 2, and opponents say this will disproportionately limit representation for Black voters. Barnes’ neighbor, Felicia Williams, retired from the Air Force and moved back after 30 years four months ago. She said she wants her home county to prioritize other development, like urgent care centers and restaurants. “I wanted to come back home to be with my family and my community and help build it up, not for a data center to come here and take all our precious resources,” Williams said. “If we’re already a low-served area, and our health is already on the line, what will there be of us?” Cloverleaf executives have said that the company has between 800 and 1,000 acres of land under contract. The site sits at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21, across from a Chevron gas station. Signs stating “SAVE OUR LAND” were dotted along the property lines. A conceptual site plan posted at the meeting shows two entrances alongside Highway 21, four 720,000 square-foot buildings, two mechanical yards, a potential substation, a 30,000 square-foot office building and a 100,000 square-foot warehouse, plus stormwater management areas, at the proposed campus. The company has said that the project would create between 1,000 and 2,000 construction jobs for three years, and between 50 and 200 permanent, technical jobs starting at $75,000 salaries to operate the data center. Orbuty Ozier, the mayor of neighboring Gordonville who also serves on the county’s economic development commission, said that workforce training through the local high schools and community college could set young residents up for success. “We need the jobs,” she said. “By the time this plant is built and ready, they’ll be ready to go to work.”

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