The Proposed STAMP Data Center: A Closer Look at the Benefit/Cost Claim

A large-scale data center campus known as Project Double Reed is planned for the STAMP industrial site in Genesee County. According to the applicant’s February 18, 2026 SEQR filing, the project would occupy roughly 90 acres, divided between a 60-acre North Campus and a 30-acre South Campus. It is designed as an extremely power-intensive facility: the project’s utility filing says it is expected to require about 500 megawatts of electric load. In comparison, STAMP’s electric plan contemplates a substation system expandable to 600 megawatts.

The project summary submitted to GCEDC also states that the developer is seeking a package of public assistance, including major sales-tax and mortgage-recording-tax exemptions, and a long-term PILOT arrangement, while projecting substantial electricity-related tax payments and other revenues over time. In short, this is not a conventional industrial project with large permanent employment; it is a very large, utility-intensive data center proposal whose economic case depends heavily on assumptions about long-run operating benefits and public costs. Are the sponsor’s claims well supported?