Georgia Election Drives New Scrutiny of Data Center Expansion
Georgia’s election has strengthened officials and regulators who want to slow data center growth and examine its effects on electricity rates, water use and local communities. Augusta commissioners approved new data center rules, while governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms has promised a temporary moratorium on new approvals; existing Google and QTS projects are expected to proceed.
Georgia voters elected officials who have pledged to scrutinize the state’s rapid data center expansion. Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms has promised an executive order imposing a temporary moratorium on new data center approvals while the state studies grid demands, water use, tax incentives and rate impacts. The Georgia Public Service Commission is also expected to examine how Georgia Power allocates the cost of serving large customers such as data centers.
In Augusta, commissioners approved a 29-page ordinance by a 6-5 vote governing data center locations, noise, setbacks and water use. The rules do not apply retroactively to the QTS facility along Gordon Highway or the proposed Nixon Technology Campus, which residents have opposed. Other projects, including a Google complex in Columbia County and a planned campus in McDuffie County, remain in development, leaving the state to balance existing commitments with pressure for tighter controls.