Piedmont Delays Project Open Sky Data Center Vote
Piedmont Delays Project Open Sky Data Center Vote Until September 28
The Piedmont City Council has delayed a decision on a proposed billion-dollar data center development after months of debate over how the massive project could affect residents and the surrounding community.
The Project Open Sky data center vote is now scheduled for September 28, 2026, when council members are expected to reconsider annexation and zoning requests connected to the Cloverleaf Infrastructure development. Piedmont's official calendar lists a City Council meeting for 6:30 p.m. that Monday.
The delay gives city leaders additional time to evaluate significant revisions made by the developer after residents raised concerns about noise, water use, power generation, infrastructure costs and the rural character of the area.
Project Open Sky Data Center Vote Delayed After Developer Revises Plans
Project Open Sky is being developed by Cloverleaf Infrastructure on property north of Piedmont.
The company's original proposal sought annexation and rezoning for approximately 633 acres in Canadian County, where plans called for a multi-building data center campus. Public filings show the proposed campus could include six data center buildings of approximately 352,800 square feet each, along with supporting infrastructure.
Cloverleaf describes Project Open Sky as representing more than $1 billion in taxable investment and says construction would create more than 1,000 jobs over a period of at least three years.
The developer has revised its proposal following previous meetings and opposition from nearby residents.
Among the changes, Cloverleaf agreed to comply with Piedmont's noise ordinance, eliminate plans to drill water wells on the property and remove a proposed power-generation component from the development plan.
The city's formal planning documents for the development are available through Piedmont's Project Open Sky Planned Unit Development filing.
Cloverleaf has also proposed a voluntary property purchase program for qualifying homeowners near the development, giving those residents an option to remain in their homes or seek a market-rate purchase offer.
Piedmont Residents Push for More Restrictions on Data Centers
Opposition to the development has remained active despite changes to the proposal.
Some residents have argued that a data center campus of this scale would fundamentally change the quiet, rural character of the Piedmont area. Others have questioned potential effects involving noise, electricity demand, nearby property and future industrial development.
Residents have organized petitions seeking different levels of restriction, including an 18-month pause on data center development, stronger regulations and, in some cases, a permanent prohibition on data centers within the city.
The debate comes as Piedmont works to establish more specific rules governing an industry that previously did not have its own clearly defined category in the city's zoning code.
Cloverleaf says the project would use a closed-loop cooling system designed to dramatically reduce ongoing water consumption. The company says the system requires an initial fill and would subsequently use an amount of water comparable to a typical office building during normal operations. That description represents the developer's projection for the proposed system.
The developer also says it would be responsible for necessary power and transmission upgrades so those infrastructure costs would not be shifted to existing customers.
Details of those commitments and the developer's case for the project are outlined on the Project Open Sky information site.
Those assurances have not ended the debate, with opponents continuing to argue that the size and long-term impact of the development warrant additional scrutiny before the city grants approval.
Cloverleaf Has Backup Land in Kingfisher County if Piedmont Rejects Project
The upcoming Project Open Sky data center vote may determine whether the development moves forward within Piedmont, but it may not determine whether the broader project moves forward at all.
In August, Cloverleaf announced it had secured options on approximately 337 additional acres in neighboring Kingfisher County.
The company said those land options provide another path for Project Open Sky regardless of the outcome of Piedmont's approval process. Cloverleaf also said the final footprint will depend on local government approvals, technical design and project phasing.
Cloverleaf's Kingfisher County land announcement describes the additional property as adjacent to the project's existing Canadian County site.
One figure has also changed as the proposal has developed. While early plans focused on approximately 633 acres, Cloverleaf said in August that its broader Project Open Sky site in Canadian County had grown to approximately 1,033 acres, with the additional 337-acre Kingfisher County option providing further flexibility.
The developer currently projects at least 50 permanent full-time jobs once the data center becomes operational, in addition to more than 1,000 construction jobs.
For Piedmont residents, however, the immediate question is whether the revised proposal has addressed enough of the community's concerns for city leaders to approve annexation and rezoning.
That decision has now been pushed to September 28, giving both the developer and residents another 10 days before the Piedmont City Council is expected to take up Project Open Sky again.
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