Digi Power X Columbiana AI Data Center

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. May 2026

   Under construction
   "construction on the Columbiana facility is set to begin in May 2026 and be completed by March 2027 for service to begin in April 2027" Source: Shelby County Reporter
2. January 2025

   Proposed
   Digihost/Digi Power X announced the former Grede Foundry site, in use as a bitcoin-mining operation since 2022, would be converted to a data center. Source: Shelby County Reporter

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Digi Power X Columbiana AI Data Center in Columbiana, Shelby County, Alabama is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. "Since its announcement, residents have expressed disapproval for the data center leading to a town hall in January 2026 that answered questions regarding the facility.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

"Since its announcement, residents have expressed disapproval for the data center leading to a town hall in January 2026 that answered questions regarding the facility. In February, the Columbiana City Council approved an ordinance placing restrictions on any future data centers." The City Council then "unanimously rejected a tax abatement proposal for Digi Power X" following the 5 May 2026 Cerebras announcement.

Source: Shelby County Reporter

Power and water

"Digi Power X has an agreement with Alabama Power for the facility and plans to build out in two phases, with Phase 1 comprising 15 megawatts of information technology load and Phase 2 delivering 25 MW for a combined total of 40 MW." The article adds that "The property already supported 22 MW through a substation that was left over from the operation of the Grede Foundry."

The abatement filing states only that "the site will utilize water for liquid cooling" and that noise will come from cooling equipment. The source does not state whether the water circuit recirculates or how heat is rejected, so the cooling type is deliberately left unknown rather than guessed.

Public money on the record

Notes on the record

Subsidy: the Columbiana City Council "unanimously rejected a tax abatement proposal for Digi Power X", and the article states "The only governmental body that has the jurisdiction to give an abatement on taxes for the Columbiana data center is the City Council." So as of 29 May 2026 this site had no local tax abatement, and by the reporter's account no other body could have granted one. Digi Power X had requested abatement on "all state and local non-educational property taxes on the project's industrial development property" plus construction-related transaction taxes through 2027. WBRC reported on 24 July 2026 that the council had later voted to grant DigiPowerX "a 12-month sales and use tax abatement, but only during construction to help cover the cost of equipment for expansion", in return for a $3.5 million "community impact payment" to the city. Anchor tenant: 10-year master services agreement with Cerebras Systems for colocation of the 40 MW AI data center, "valued at approximately $1.1 billion with potential for the contract value to reach $2.5 billion, inclusive of renewal terms", that $1.1B is contract value, not capital investment, and is not recorded as the investment figure; the $371.5M figure is the stated "total investment ... in building, machinery and personal property" from the abatement filing. Bham Now (June 2026) instead reports a 55 MW two-phase plan, with 22 MW and $176 million for the first phase and $440 million in total; those figures differ from the 40 MW colocation agreement and the abatement-filing figure and are not recorded. Jobs: "Digi Power X plans to start out with two jobs at a total annual payroll of $200,000 and to expand to 45 permanent jobs by year three with a total payroll of $4.5 million", the 2 is the year-one headcount, not a construction workforce, so no construction job count is recorded; the source states no construction-worker count. Site history: property purchased by Digihost Technology Inc from Grede II LLC on 21 June 2022 after the Grede Foundry closed in 2020, and run as a bitcoin-mining operation until the January 2025 conversion announcement. Air emissions to be monitored by ADEM. Coordinates are the OSM industrial-park polygon centroid for Industrial Parkway, not a confirmed parcel footprint.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Swift Willow Westover Data Center Campus · Westover · Swift Willow Property, LLC14 mi · Proposed · Mixed reception
• AT&T Hoover Data Center · Hoover · AT&T17 mi · Operating
• Western Hospitality Childersburg Campus · Childersburg · Western Hospitality Partners17 mi · Proposed
• Nebius Birmingham AI Factory (BHM01) · Birmingham · Nebius Group22 mi · Under construction · 300 MW · In litigation
• G. Phillip Pope Technology Center (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama Data Center) · Birmingham · Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama23 mi · Operating
• DC BLOX Birmingham Data Center Campus · Birmingham · DC BLOX25 mi · Operating · 60 MW
• QTS Bessemer (Project Marvel) · Bessemer · QTS Data Centers27 mi · Proposed · 1.2 GW · Contested
• Patmos Fairfield Colocation Data Center · Fairfield · Patmos27 mi · Proposed · 45 MW · Contested

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