Georgia data center surge faces pushback as towns move to curb water, power, and noise strain

Georgia's push to expand its data center footprint is picking up speed, with billion-dollar developments proposed across multiple regions. 

As those campuses grow in scale, opposition is also mounting from residents concerned about heavy water use, rising power demand, noise, pollution, and the disappearance of community spaces.

What's happening?

Proposals for new data centers — along with facilities already moving forward — are surfacing throughout Georgia, including OpenAI's Project Camellia in Effingham County and other developments in Hampton, Douglas, Bartow, Coweta, and DeKalb counties. At the same time, backlash is spreading in many of those communities, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

A 180-day moratorium approved by the Chamblee City Council will block new data center applications until January 16, 2027. At-large councilmember Jimmy Furst said, per the publication, "Chamblee has a responsibility to plan ahead and ensure our regulations keep pace with emerging forms of development."

In Hampton, one of the flashpoints is a large development planned near South Lee Road and Lower Woolsey Road. Critics have objected because the site is close to a historic Black cemetery that Honor Thy Roots Cemetery Preservation Inc. said includes 54 documented names and 16 undocumented enslaved people.

Advocate Efaye Lloyd told Fox 5 Atlanta, "We are in the process of starting a preservation movement. We want to preserve abandoned and forgotten African American cemeteries like the one behind us."

Residents in Douglas County challenged a five-building project spanning more than 700 acres, while activists in South DeKalb have pushed for tighter restrictions on project scale and infrastructure effects.

Why does it matter?

Much of the digital economy depends on data centers, which support cloud storage, streaming, websites, and artificial intelligence. Supporters of these projects say they can bring construction work, long-term jobs, tax income, and infrastructure improvements.

According to OpenAI, its Effingham County development could add thousands of jobs, become the county's biggest taxpayer, and deliver $80 million in community benefits.

Those promised benefits come with substantial resource needs. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that OpenAI's project by itself could use up to 3.2 gigawatts of electricity, with that demand coming online in phases between 2028 and 2032.

Georgia Power has mapped out about $16 billion in expansion along with up to 10 gigawatts of new generating capacity, and roughly 80% to 90% of that increase is expected to serve data centers.

AI can improve efficiency and help optimize clean energy systems, but building the infrastructure behind it can also prompt worries about water use, higher utility costs, security concerns, and broader social impacts.

Attorney and activist Gina Mangham told the publication, "The water issue in DeKalb could put our whole water system in jeopardy."

What's being done?

Cities and counties are starting to adjust their policies. Chamblee's moratorium reflects a wider movement that also includes bans in Fayetteville, Atlanta, and Palmetto, as well as tougher ordinances in places like Troup County.

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that Coweta County residents filed suit on May 5 seeking to overturn approval of Project Sail. Meanwhile, 34 counties and 23 cities in Georgia have adopted, proposed, or were developing data center ordinances or moratoriums.

In Hampton, officials created a 50-foot buffer between the cemetery and the nearby project and are pursuing state or national historic recognition for the burial site.

Georgia Power said OpenAI would cover the entire cost of the infrastructure and electrical service required for Project Camellia, while OpenAI said the project would rely on a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates water.

Even with those steps, many residents have said review and regulation should happen before projects are built rather than in response to them.

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