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USA › Alabama › Jefferson County

Jefferson County

3 data center projects we know about. 40 cities, towns and unincorporated areas.

Built & runningBeing builtApproved, not built yetProposedStopped or cancelled

Projects

Approved, not built yet

Project Marvel data center campus in Bessemer

Bessemer, Jefferson County

1,600 acres

🕒 July 1, 2026: QTS Data Centers, owned by Blackstone, confirmed it is behind the project and said it wi…

Being built

Nebius AI data center in Oxmoor Valley, Birmingham

Birmingham, Jefferson County

75 acres · for Nebius

🕒 July 2026: Two neighbors sued to stop the project; a judge let construction continue for now.

Proposed

Patmos data center in former Fairfield Walmart

Fairfield, Jefferson County

🕒 Aug 12, 2026: Hundreds of residents attended a town hall on the plan at the Fairfield Civic Center.

Local votes and rules

⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Tarrant

Council passed a one-year pause on business licenses for data centers so the city can study effects on power, water, roads and neighborhoods. No developer had approached the city.

Sept 8, 2026Source

⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Fairfield

Council passed a temporary ban on new data center proposals. It does not apply to the Patmos plan for the former Walmart, which the council could still vote on separately. The length of the pause was not reported.

July 20, 2026Source

⚖️ Court case · Birmingham

Oxmoor Valley homeowners sued the City of Birmingham, Nebius and its builder, saying the city broke its own zoning rules when it allowed the 300-megawatt data center. In July 2026 a judge ruled the case can go forward and held hearings on stopping construction. Neighbors later added claims about land sales tied to the site.

July 10, 2026Source

⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Homewood

Council unanimously paused approvals for data centers over 1 megawatt for 12 months, with a possible 6-month extension, while staff and the Planning Commission study the effects. No applications were pending.

June 22, 2026Source

📜 Data center rules · Birmingham

Council voted 6-3 for new zoning rules for all sizes of data centers. The biggest ('hyperscale', over 200,000 sq ft or over 30 megawatts) must meet 20 conditions: 500 ft from homes, 1,000 ft from major transit stations, at least 5 acres, closed-loop cooling, no fossil-fuel generators except for emergencies and testing, and noise studies before and after building. A public hearing is no longer required if all conditions are met.

June 9, 2026Source

⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Leeds

Council unanimously paused all development approvals and permits for data center campuses for one year while it looks at new zoning rules. No data center was proposed in Leeds at the time.

June 8, 2026Source

🤝 Agreement with the company · Birmingham

The city's Industrial Development Board voted 6-0 to give the Nebius data center tax breaks for up to 30 years: 65% off non-school property taxes and 80% off construction sales taxes. The mayor said the city itself did not give the tax breaks.

May 29, 2026Source

🗺️ Zoning change · Bessemer

Council approved rezoning about 900 more acres for Project Marvel, after the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended it in February. The extra land keeps the campus clear of the planned Northern Beltline road; the campus grows to about 1,600 acres.

April 21, 2026Source

⏸️ Pause on new data centers · Birmingham

Council paused permits, site plans and business licenses for new or bigger data centers using more than 20 megawatts, for 180 days. Two projects already in the works (DC BLOX expansion and Nebius) were exempt. The pause was meant to end once new rules were in place.

March 3, 2026Source

🗺️ Zoning change · Bessemer

Council voted 5-2 to rezone about 700 acres from farm land to light industrial for Project Marvel, a planned $14.5 billion data center campus.

Nov 18, 2025Source

🗺️ Zoning change · Bessemer

Council changed the zoning code so data centers of any size are allowed in light industrial areas. Before, data centers were not listed as an allowed use. The change cleared the way for Project Marvel.

Oct 7, 2025Source

⚖️ Court case · Bessemer

Neighbors near Rock Mountain Lake Road sued over the Project Marvel rezoning, calling it unfair 'spot zoning'. A judge first paused the council's action, and the city restarted the process. On June 22, 2026 the case was dismissed for good after both sides agreed to end it.

April 2025Source

Find your town

In Alabama, cities and towns decide inside their limits. Outside them, the county decides.