CALVERT COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Amazon has abandoned plans to build three data centers on the grounds of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, a decision that comes after months of intense community opposition and a political shift in Calvert County.
For Patti Stueckler, a longtime North Beach resident and Republican commissioner-nominee, the project never seemed like a good fit for the county’s environment.
“Look at the bay,” Stueckler said. “You look at this Chesapeake Bay and you look at the Patuxent River. We’re only nine miles at the widest and 35 miles long. So we’re a peninsula. We have a very delicate ecosystem.”
Residents first learned in February about plans for the data centers, which would have been built on a portion of the Calvert Cliffs property in Lusby. By that time, the project already had support from county commissioners and had advanced significantly.
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County officials later launched a website detailing the proposal and, along with Amazon staffers, held community meetings. Public opposition continued to grow as residents researched the potential environmental and community impacts of large-scale data centers.
“That just erupted a firestorm here in the county,” Stueckler said. “I didn’t know anything about data centers, so I started doing a lot of research, like a lot of other people, and realized pretty quickly that’s not what we want here in Calvert County.”
The controversy became a significant issue in June’s primary election. Three incumbent county commissioners who opposed a moratorium on new data centers were defeated. Stueckler was among the candidates elected.
Last week, county officials announced that Amazon had withdrawn its plans for the project.
Amazon has publicly maintained that politics did not influence the decision.
In statements released by the company, Amazon said the move was driven by business considerations.
The county’s commissioners are now expected to vote next week on a data center moratorium. If approved, Calvert would join a growing number of Maryland jurisdictions that have paused consideration of new data center projects.
According to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, roughly three-quarters of Maryland residents now live in counties or communities covered by data center moratoriums.
Brittany Baker, the organization’s Maryland director, said local actions reflect public concerns but argued that statewide standards are needed.
“I think a state-level moratorium is really what’s needed to standardize our ability to wait for regulations across the state,” Baker said. “The local moratoriums really represent the people’s voice, but now what we need is a really thoughtful and comprehensive path forward.”
Despite Amazon’s withdrawal, Stueckler said she remains skeptical that any future data center proposal would be acceptable in Calvert County.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “The main reason is I don’t want to disturb the beauty. I don’t want to destroy a thousand acres of forest, which is where Amazon was.”
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