ACC Commission places temporary ban on new data centers in Athens

The ACC Commission has placed a temporary ban on new data centers in Athens until standards can be developed to regulate their growth. Read the full article here: https://athenspoliticsnerd.com/commission-places-temporary-ban-on-new-data-centers-in-athens/ APN is funded by individual donors like you and is completely independent. ➜ Become a Member: https://athenspoliticsnerd.com/join ➜ Like APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athenspoliticsnerd ➜ Follow APN on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdAthens ➜ Join the APN email list: https://athenspoliticsnerd.com/signup/ TRANSCRIPT The owners of Athena Studios are asking to build a data center on their property, which would be the second one in Athens. These giant warehouses full of computer servers use a tremendous amount of water and electricity, which could make prices go up even further. Over a dozen concerned residents spoke during public comment, urging the commission to reject data centers in Athens. “Georgia already has 98 data centers. They use the amount of power equivalent to three million homes and 67 million gallons of water a day.” “Athens already has one data center that was approved with no public information in the back of Pittard Road, an environmental victim zone.” “Before we bring more data centers into Georgia, we need to thoughtfully consider if this is right for our community.” The commission voted unanimously to place a temporary ban on new data center construction so that they have the time to develop regulations that can limit this industry’s growth. “We never, ever, ever would have expected another data center trying to come here. I think when the first one popped up, it should have set off some alarms for us. It should have set off some alarms. But here we are, we’ll have a moratorium and we’ll move forward.” You can read more about this issue on my website, AthensPoliticsNerd.com.