Why this score?
Four weighted factors drive the Glades County risk score. Methodology is fully documented — each input is public data or a reasoned proxy.
Moderate in-county generation. Viable for mid-sized facilities, extension required for hyperscale.
South Florida WMD — Everglades restoration, high demand, significant water stress.
Very rural. Abundant large parcels available for industrial conversion.
Multiple adjacent counties have active projects. High regional clustering pressure.
Water infrastructure
Any hyperscale data center in Glades County would need a consumptive use permit from the South Florida Water Management District.
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) covers 16 counties from Orlando south through the Keys. It manages Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades system and has some of the state's most aggressive consumptive use permitting review. Project Tango in Palm Beach County falls under SFWMD jurisdiction.
A single hyperscale data center using evaporative cooling can require 1–5 million gallons per day. SFWMD is currently managing the most politically controversial data center review in the state (Project Tango). Any new proposal in this district in 2026 will be compared to Tango's process and likely face longer review timelines and more community input.
Electric infrastructure
Grid capacity and transmission access are the single biggest driver of where hyperscale developers actually site projects.
Glades County is served by Glades Electric Cooperative as the primary electric utility, with Florida Power & Light covering rural and cooperative-served areas. Rural; adjacent to Okeechobee (Okee-One project).
Electric cooperatives are member-owned and typically serve rural territory. Cooperatives generally lack the transmission capacity needed for hyperscale loads without significant utility-funded buildout, making cooperative-served areas less attractive to data center developers than investor-owned territory.
Adjacent county activity
Data center campuses tend to cluster near existing infrastructure, meaning proposals in adjacent counties can quickly change the risk picture for Glades County.
State legislative context
Florida's 2026 legislative session produced the regulatory framework that will shape every data center proposal in the state, including any that may come to Glades County.
Florida's 2026 legislative session produced multiple bills that directly affect how data centers can be sited and permitted statewide, including in Glades County. Only SB 484 became law — Chapter 2026-65, effective July 1, 2026. HB 1007 was laid on the table on March 11 and folded into it. Early versions of both proposed statewide siting restrictions, mandatory impact studies, and minimum setbacks from homes and schools. The enacted law contains none of those. What it does: requires the Public Service Commission to set tariffs ensuring large load customers pay their own cost of service rather than shifting it onto residential ratepayers (utilities must file by October 1, 2026), creates distinct consumptive use permit requirements for large-scale data centers, and eliminates the additional 12-month extension on the public-records exemption for data center projects. It does not ban data centers. The new s. 163.326 states that siting, infrastructure capacity, and land use compatibility "shall be addressed through local comprehensive planning and land development regulations" — the Legislature explicitly left this decision to your county commission. Under existing law (s. 288.075), economic development agencies can already shield project details for 12 months on written request — the mechanism behind code names like Project Tango in Palm Beach County. SB 484 narrows it: it defines “data center,” requires the agency to disclose business activities related to a data center’s location or expansion, and eliminates the additional 12-month extension for data center projects. Twelve months of secrecy, not twenty-four — but twelve months is still long enough for a project to arrive nearly finished.
No active data center in Glades County — yet.
Palm Beach got four days notice before their first zoning vote. Okeechobee just canceled Okee-One after 3,000 signatures. What they did, you can do — but only if you're ready before the proposal lands.
Enter your address and pick your concerns. We write a personalized opposition letter citing state statutes, local project data, and your specific concerns — then email it directly to every commissioner in your county on your behalf. You get a full copy of everything sent.
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Not legal advice. Each letter cites Florida public records, the Sunshine Law, SB 484, and documented data center cases from Newton County GA, Mansfield GA, and Bessemer AL.
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