Overview
- Developers led by the Wright family propose an more than $11 billion, 850-acre industrial energy campus on the Hiwassee River that would build about 1,500 megawatts of on-site generation (1,000 MW natural gas and 500 MW woody biomass) and seek a 360 MW TVA backup connection to serve a likely data center or other large industrial user.
- The city’s review remains in early stages with the Wrights scheduled to present to the Cleveland Planning Commission on Monday, Sept. 21, followed by at least two community meetings beginning in October and a possible municipal decision sometime between October and January, city manager Joe Fivas said.
- Opposition has mobilized at recent public events, including a protest before the Cleveland City Council swearing-in on Sept. 14, with residents raising worries about increased logging truck traffic, road damage, air and water impacts, and the local effects of data centers and AI.
- Developers say the campus would create roughly 900 direct campus jobs plus about 1,700 jobs in regional forestry, would recover and reuse biomass process water rather than rely on municipal supply, and have expressed support for a draft PUD ordinance that sets setbacks, noise limits, traffic rules and required impact studies.
- What to watch next: the Planning Commission hearing on Sept. 21, the publication and likely October vote on the PUD 77 ordinance that would impose binding conditions, and whether approvals move forward to annexation and a four-phase, five-year construction plan that would reshape local roads and industry.