Facing pushback from across the region, Seacoast entrepreneur Tom Moulton has withdrawn his proposal to convert a Nottingham warehouse into a data center, hours ahead of a planned public protest.
The town announced May 27 the preliminary conceptual consultation for Moulton’s proposal had been withdrawn from the Nottingham Planning Board agenda. A large crowd had been anticipated to attend the meeting and protest the plan.
Moulton, a Hampton and Rye resident who is founder of Sleepnet Corporation and owner of De Niro Construction, said he will continue evaluating the site and possibly revisit the matter in the future.
“I think that’s the right thing to do right now,” he said in an interview May 27.
The 145 Old Turnpike Road property in Nottingham was once owned by USA Springs and eyed for a water bottling plant, though the plan never came to be after similar resident opposition. Moulton, owner of the warehouse property since September 2021, had not yet filed an official proposal with the town.
In a statement, Moulton expressed his appreciation for the public’s engagement with his proposed data center.
“In order to allow the applicant to conduct additional research, further evaluate the property and the proposed use, and determine whether this is an appropriate use for this site, the applicant is withdrawing the pending conceptual consultation request without prejudice. If the applicant determines that the project should be revisited, it intends to do so at a later date with additional information and with the goal of being able to provide appropriate answers to the Planning Board, abutters, residents, and the public at large,” Moulton’s formal statement reads.
Moulton said he has no timeline for when he may bring the idea forward again to the town.
Before halting the process, Moulton explained the existing warehouse would be converted into a data center. No new construction was envisioned for the site.
Moulton estimated opening a data center could cost him tens of millions of dollars but create only a few on-site jobs once online.
Residents opposed data center; Gov. Ayotte did, too
A growing number of opponents cited concerns over a data center’s water and electricity usage, in addition to worries about noise on the site, residential property values and possible electrical rate increases.
An online petition in opposition of the data center has received over 25,000 signatures and counting.
Brad Weit, a Newmarket resident, started the petition. Weit is a fisherman, hunter and outdoorsman worried about the impact artificial intelligence has on the nation’s power grid and energy supply.
“We are sacrificing our real, physical environment for a virtual one,” he told Seacoastonline prior to Moulton withdrawing the plan. “I really did not think the petition would get so much attention, but seeing people come together despite political differences has made me very proud of my community. Even if this data center does not go through, we need to pass legislation to address any similar proposals in the future across our state.”
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte is among the critics of any data centers being built in the Granite State.
“Energy costs are already too high in New Hampshire, and data centers have the potential to cause them to skyrocket,” she said in a Tuesday, May 26 statement to Seacoastonline. “It makes no sense to site data centers in our state without more energy to support them, and we have to give local communities a say in this process. Without additional energy sources, I can’t support building data centers here.”
According to research organization Data Center Watch, $64 billion worth of data center projects were blocked or delayed in the U.S. between May 2024 and March 2025.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Ian Lenahan.
