Pepper Wimer of OpGovNews released several emails showing Escambia County Commissioner Mike Kohler, FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance CEO Chris Plate and other local and state officials spent February 2026 arranging meetings, site tours and dinners with a company proposing an AI data center.
FloridaWest has responded that the meetings and site tours focused on a potential Battery Energy Storage System, and the data center was only mentioned among several ancillary projects. The data center was “self-eliminated” due to lack of infrastructure.
EMAILS
On Feb. 1 at 8:54 a.m., Nanda Bhagi contacted Congressman Jimmy Patronis to follow up on a December conversation about a visit to Pensacola on Feb, 17-18 to undertake preliminary site visits and “hold executive level meetings with the relevant Planning Board members and County officials to formally present our Nikola Tesla (NT) Smart City initiative and to submit an Expression of Interest for the design, development, implementation, and long-range management of a Tesla Energy Global Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Gigafactory” in Escambia County.
- Bhagi thanked Patronis for helping to coordinate the project with local officials, which would also include an AI data center.
Six minutes later, Escambia County Commissioner Mike Kohler sent an email to County Administrator Wes Moreno, NAS Pensacola CO Capt. Chandra Newman and the staff of U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody that confirmed Baghi would visit the county on Feb. 16. It looks like the commissioner forwarded the Bhagi email with this email.
- Kohler wrote, “I appreciate the help and look forward to seeing if Saufley or another site will fit his interests.”
At 9:37 a.m., Kohler wrote FloridaWest CEO Chris Platé and FloridaWest board member David Bear that he had been in communication with Bhagi on two projects, the first visit focusing on the battery factory. He added, “Chris, if Saufley doesn’t work, we need to find a good site.”
- He mentioned having a small dinner at “McGuires or Indian” on Feb. 16.
OpGov Analysis
Wimer alleges that the February emails “show Kohler inviting and facilitating the same type of project he publicly opposed in June.” She says Platé’s comments to the media acknowledging early-stage talks are inconsistent with his June statement that FloridaWest had “never been in active negotiations.”
Read full report.
FloridaWest Response
Inweekly contacted Platé after receiving the press release. He called the February meetings “early-stage activity,” not negotiations.
In early 2026, FloridaWest received an inbound lead. He told Inweekly, “As the initiative developed, its primary component became clear: a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) assembly facility (therefore we named it ‘Project Super Charger’).”
- Several ancillary projects were also discussed, including a sports facility, community development projects, and, at one point, a data center. Platé said, “We did for this prospect what we do for every prospect, showed properties throughout the county so it could evaluate the strengths of these locations.”
He shared that Commissioner Kohler had a personal relationship with the company leadership and helped organize those first meetings and some site visits. Platé added, “I do not recall his awareness of all the components of the project.”
- Platé wrote, “As we have stated, the data center component self-eliminated based on lack of infrastructure, so there is no data center component to this project today. However, we do still consider other components of Project Super Charger still in play.”
OpGov News Press Release
From: Pepper Wimer
Subject: Press release on data centers and smart city in Pensacola and Escambia
Date: June 29, 2026 at 11:39:37?PM CDT
To: “rick@inweekly.net” <rick@inweekly.net>
Public records show Escambia County officials coordinated February 2026 meetings on a proposed AI data center, four months before stating publicly that no negotiations were occurring.
Feb. 1, 2026 emails obtained by http://OpGov.News show Commissioner Mike Kohler, FloridaWest CEO Chris Plate, and others arranging site tours and dinners with Tesla Group to discuss a “Smart City initiative” including a BESS Gigafactory and AI data center.
“I have been in communication with Nanda on two projects,” Kohler wrote to Plate on Feb. 1. “Chris, if Saufley doesn’t work we need to find a good site.”
On May 28, Plate told the Pensacola News Journal: “We’re in the early stages with a project that’s looking… We’re just in the very beginning stages.”
At the June 17 Board of County Commissioners meeting, Plate told the board: “FloridaWest has never been in active negotiations to build a data center.” Kohler told residents: “I don’t want it in my neighborhood either.”
FloridaWest Email
From: Christopher Platé
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 10:44 AM
To: Richard Outzen <rick@inweekly.net>
Subject: Re: Press release on data centers and smart city in Pensacola and Escambia
In economic development, leads come to us from many sources. When a prospect first makes contact, we know just the basics of their project. When a company is exploring, often comparing several regions at once, they release details slowly as the work progresses. Our job is to show available properties and provide information based on the details we have and pivot as more information becomes available. Then the company has the information they require to determine whether Escambia County fits its needs.
That is exactly what happened here. In early 2026, we received an inbound lead for the project at referred to a “Smart City” initiative. We are grateful to Commissioner Mike Kohler, who made the initial introduction and helped open the door to a company considering a significant investment in the United States. So much of successful economic development is levering relationships with company leaders and bringing opportunities like this to the table is a real service to the community, and we appreciate it.
From there, the work followed its normal course. As the initiative developed, its primary component became clear: a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) assembly facility (therefore we named it Project Super Charger). Looking to support that anchor business, the prospect was also discussing several other ancillary projects, including a sports facility project, community development projects, and at one point a data center. We did for this prospect what we do for every prospect, showed properties throughout the county so it could evaluate the strengths of these locations.
Commissioner Kohler helped organize those first meetings and some site visits, and because of his personal relationship with the company leadership he remained somewhat engaged at a very high level, and I do not recall his awareness of all the components of the project. But the detailed work is FloridaWest’s responsibility, and our professional staff carried it forward. This all happens before any project comes before the County Commissioners.
None of that early-stage activity is considered negotiation, and FloridaWest was never in negotiations on the data center project. As we have stated, the data center component self-eliminated based on lack of infrastructure, so there is no data center component to this project today. However, we do still consider other components of Project Super Charger still in play.
Chris Platé, Chief Executive Officer
