On October 16, 2025, the first day of the Alabama Energy Mining and Mineral Institute conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Dr. Richard Esposito, R&D Program Manager Geosciences and Carbon Management at Southern Company, opened his talk saying that the META Data Center in Montgomery will become Alabama Power’s largest client.
What is a data center?
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-a-data-cent
Southern Company is the second largest utility in the United States comprised of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power, Southern Nuclear, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas (Il, NJ). This Data Center as well as others planned in Alabama will require much more energy. As a result, Southern Company is bringing back on-line coal fired plants. On October 31, 2025, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced an imperative to bring back national coal power production.
https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-100-million-restore-americas-coal-plants
Besides, coal-fired plants, Southern Company is investing in building solar farms around the META data center.
Southern Company is also researching and pilot testing coal ash as a strategic resource for rare earth elements (REEs). The challenge is in sampling for REEs at these ash ponds. A test center for REE Demonstration evaluates technology for ash processing to extract REEs. A DOE field study at Plant Branch (GA) will help pilot test center in Alabama. Southern Company is currently undertaking Ash Pond Closures with EPA with approximately thirty-six ash ponds at 17 coal-fired plant locations. They are also investigating beneficial uses (BUI) from ash like adding it to concrete for construction materials.
At the Alabama Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) Workshop sponsored by the Southern Energy Board (SEEB) on September 11, 2025, the focus was on carbon management as the key to abundant energy. Engineered solutions are faster than natural processes. These are in four major areas: 1) CO2 capture 2) CO2 utilization 3) CO2 storage and 4) CO2 pipelines. Southern Company is also investing in research and development of Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). Richard Esposito presented the history of the carbon program starting in 2003 and culminating in 2011 with Plant Barry, the largest CCS demonstration on a coal fired plant in the world. It included a 12-mile pipeline linking CO2 with an injection site in the Citronelle Dome. He noted energy transition is evolving into energy transformation. It involves changes in how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed across sectors like power, transportation, industry, materials, and buildings.
In my opinion, with Artificial Intelligence, AI, AI algorithms and agents increasing use by mining companies, oil and gas companies for predictive modeling, optimized decision making and risk management, we are peering at the edge of uncertainty. How will we provide for the energy demands of data centers, supercomputers, and quantum computers without compromising our current energy grid and water needs. We can try to accelerate progress but at what cost? Are we chasing the right resources for our energy needs? Some reports say the Chinese have been mining Helium 3 from the moon and trying to use it for quantum computer cooling.
The reality of the energy consumption demanded by data centers is yet to be determined as most large data centers for AI and AGI have not come on-line yet. Next year, 2026, the first flagship data center (Abilene, Texas) of the StarGate program backed by OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank should be fully operational.
Some data centers build outs have faced community opposition due to environmental reasons. For example, the xAI data center outside of Memphis where Elon Musk is pioneering his Colossus supercomputer and generative AI “Grok” has faced roadblocks. The project has been delayed by complaints of air pollution. In Alabama, the Bessemer community near Birmingham will be holding a hearing in November 2025 on whether to allow for data center development. The data center development recently won zoning approval in mid-October 2025 for light industrial use. The hyperscale data center will have 18 buildings on 700 acres. Community opposition includes: potential increase in utility rates, energy usage, construction traffic, air pollution, and watershed concerns to name a few.
As with any natural resource, there are tradeoffs in use and choice of resources. This story has been repeated throughout history. Technical solutions and options often exist to solve a problem. The choice often culminates in public policy or political decisions. It is important for citizens to understand these choices and implications on their lives. How can Earth Resource Systems help you better understand and navigate these complex systems?