"Lowndes County deserves a better deal. Tenant disclosure. Water transparency. Ratepayer protection. Education-tax carve-out. Before any 30-year tax abatement vote. We are not against investment. We are against bad deals."
The five demands
- Tenant disclosure. Public disclosure of the operator-tenant before any vote on tax abatement, road infrastructure, or water service.
- Water disclosure. Public disclosure in gallons per day — peak and average — supported by a third-party engineering analysis paid for by the developer.
- Power & ratepayer protection. Public disclosure of the megawatt request and serving utility, with a ratepayer-protection escrow that prevents costs from shifting onto residential customers.
- Education-tax carve-out. Carve-out of the education portion of property taxes from any abatement, by formal Commission resolution.
- Tenant-binding agreement. A tenant-binding community-benefits agreement that survives transfer of ownership, with automatic sunset of all incentives if the project is sold to an entity not bound by the same agreement.
Key numbers
Cloverleaf's record
Six known sites. Two withdrawn under community pressure in the last seven months. One flipped to Vantage for an $8B campus build.
Burkville
Apr 2026Project Red Clay. 30-year tax abatement expected to be requested before HB399 takes effect. Tenant unannounced. Public meetings ongoing.
Greenleaf
Jan 2026Cloverleaf retracted after a single community meeting of about 100 residents organized by Moms Clean Air Force.
Dundee Township
Oct 2025The Dundee Village Council voted to block water supply. Cloverleaf retracted the pre-development agreement within weeks.
Port Washington
May 2025Cloverleaf assembled and annexed the parcel, then handed it to Vantage Data Centers for an $8 billion campus build.
Monroe County
Through 2026Operating through a special-purpose vehicle named 'Rum Creek DevCo LLC.' Expansion currently before the county.
Troy
Feb 2026Triad High School cafeteria packed; coalition Troy Residents for Responsible Growth organized opposition. Mayor proposed a project moratorium at the Feb 2026 city council meeting.
Edwardsville
Mar 2026Illinois Answers Project obtained ~24 emails via public records showing nearly a year of detailed Cloverleaf-Edwardsville discussions about land surveys, special-use permits, and engineering — while city officials publicly told residents on Facebook there was 'no formal proposal.' Project did not move forward.
"After speaking to leadership at the Village of Greenleaf and the Town of Wrightstown, Cloverleaf will not be pursuing datacenters."Aaron Bilyeu, Chief Development Officer, Cloverleaf Infrastructure · Issued after a single community meeting of approximately 100 residents organized in under a week.
National context — copyable for stories.
Story angles to pitch.
- The pattern story. Cloverleaf has walked away from three of eight publicly known projects in seven months — Greenleaf WI, Dundee MI, Edwardsville IL — and Troy IL's mayor has now proposed a moratorium. Lowndes County, Alabama is the next test. Targets: Inside Climate News, Heatmap, Bloomberg Green, Data Center Dynamics.
- The Edwardsville parallel. Public records in one Cloverleaf community already revealed nearly a year of detailed officials-developer discussions while the city publicly denied any formal proposal. The same FOIA template now exists for Lowndes (see /foia-template). Targets: Illinois Answers Project, ProPublica, Yellowhammer News, Alabama Reflector.
- The HB399 deadline race. The Alabama Legislature unanimously cut the data-center abatement ceiling from 30 to 20 years, effective January 1, 2027. Cloverleaf is racing the clock. Targets: Alabama Daily News, Alabama Reflector, AL.com, Alabama Reporter.
- The capital-pressure / OTPP angle. Canada's largest pension fund (Ontario Teachers') anchors the fund backing Cloverleaf. Targets: The Globe and Mail, The Logic, FT, Bloomberg, Reuters. See /responsible-investing.
- The structural-conflict story. The LCEDC's own website lists the County Commission Chairman (King) as both 'Chairman' of the County Commission and 'Vice-President' of the LCEDC, the body recruiting the project. Targets: Montgomery Advertiser, AL.com, Yellowhammer News.
- The national movement story. $64B blocked, ~200 active groups, 32-month moratorium in Northampton NC, 60-day moratorium in Durham, ballot measure in Port Washington WI, primary upset in NC. Targets: Heatmap, Inside Climate News, Harvard Gazette feature follow-up.
Press contact
For interviews, additional sourcing, or to schedule a call with a local Lowndes County resident, please contact: