ATLANTA – Whether the quick rise of data centers in Georgia will ultimately prove good or bad for the state’s economy is a hotly debated topic this summer.
Georgia boasts the fastest growing data center market in the nation, behind only Virginia – the world’s largest data center market – in volume. Data centers are creating jobs and boosting local tax bases, particularly in taxrevenue starved rural communities.
“Data’s the new oil,” said Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
But critics say data centers are more of a drain on host communities than a benefit, sucking up huge quantities of electricity and water in exchange for an uncertain impact on local tax rolls.
Amy Sharma, executive director of the nonprofit Science for Georgia, which tracks the use of science in public policy, compares data centers to plagues of locusts.
“They come in and max out, then move on to the next place once they run out power or communities start paying attention, ” she said.
Estimates of the number of data centers that have set up shop in Georgia vary. A list compiled by Science for Georgia shows 97 data centers operating in the Peach State, with 27 more in the planning stages.
Dallas-based DatacenterHawk, which conducts research for the industry, reports 72 data centers operating in Georgia with 14 more under construction.
Through 2023, data centers contributed $25.7 billion to the Peach State’s Gross Domestic Product and $1.8 billion in state and local tax revenue while supporting 30,070 direct jobs and 176,790 total jobs, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms.
Clark said new data centers announced this year alone take up about 30 million square feet of space, representing an investment of $40 billion. By comparison, shopping malls typically occupy 400,000 to 800,000 square feet.
With such a huge footprint, data centers have been getting pushback from state and local elected officials worried about their potential adverse effects.
The General Assembly passed legislation last year calling for a temporary suspension of a state sales tax exemption aimed at attracting data centers. But Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed the bill after the Georgia Chamber and other business groups argued that doing away with the tax incentive would discourage corporate investment.
This year, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns formed a special committee to develop a plan for coping with the growing demand for energy and water data centers and other “large-load” electric customers put on supplies.
Also this year, state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler introduced legislation to prohibit utilities in Georgia from passing on the costs of providing electricity to data centers to their residential and small business customers. The bill cleared the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee but failed to reach the Senate floor after lobbyists representing utilities including Georgia Power opposed it.
