Georgians deserve accountability and transparency on data centers
There are two conversations being had about data centers:
- One being conducted by corporations and business leaders touting the promise of AI, a stronger grid and high-tech jobs.
- And one by residents drowning in high costs with real questions about the impacts on their communities, their health, their wallets and their future.
These two sides are talking past each other.
The truth is that Georgians are struggling with rising utility costs. And we have every right to ask questions before being asked to blindly accept sweeping assurances from elected officials and multibillion dollar corporations.
If data centers are truly reducing strain on the grid and lowering costs, why are residents facing rising bills and growing infrastructure expenses?
Supporters of the data center expansion often argue that infrastructure investments come with little to no cost to the communities. Yet, someone has to pay these costs. And it seems that consumers are actually paying for them.
Residents are asking reasonable questions
In the recent Georgia Public Service Commission fuel cost hearings, it was found that large industrial customers drive up average fuel costs for all other customers by approximately 5% to 11% per month — in part because data centers and other large users are not paying for new and existing gas pipelines, which would not be needed if we didn’t have these power-hungry data centers.
As data center development accelerates across Georgia, communities are increasingly grappling with the consequences of rapid expansion. The issues include increased pressure on power systems, water consumption concerns, transmission infrastructure battles and questions about who ultimately pays for long-term energy expansion.
Residents concerned about those impacts are not spreading myths. They are asking reasonable questions about decisions that will affect their community for years to come.
At a data center in Fayetteville, there are lingering questions about how much water is being used and if it is being paid for. Some data center companies have even been polluting water systems (Cheyenne, Wyoming) and are being accused of operating illegal power plants (Covington). Instead of hiring locals, some are creating “man camps.”
This news breeds mistrust.
There is an obvious cure for mistrust: transparency. But there is a shocking lack of it right now.
As I go town hall after town hall, people are angry. They are angry because no one is talking to them. No one is sharing details of the project.
They feel the wool is being pulled over their eyes. They feel taken advantage of. And they want to know if these multibillion dollar companies think they are stupid.
I’ve seen and heard slick data center representatives show up in $1,000 shoes and say, “We came up with a great benefit package for ‘you people’” and my all-time favorite, “Well, residents on ‘that side of town’ should know their housing is right next to zoned industrial. They should know better — it’s their fault.” (I wish I was making that quote up).
And businesses and elected officials wonder why people are angry?
Lawmakers rejected commonsense bills
Georgians deserve better than vague promises that residents will “always come first.” Good intentions are not enforceable protections. Benefit packages are not legally enforceable community benefit plans.
If elected leaders truly believe these projects will benefit the community, then why are data center developers and General Assembly leaders fighting hard against sensible bills that would have prohibited cost transfers to residential and small businesses (Senate Bill 34)?
Why did a bill that would require transparent reporting of electricity and water use, taxes paid and permanent jobs created never even get a hearing (House Bill 528)?
Why did the mention of surety bonds for decommissioning get derided?
If data centers are the panacea that they are being held up to be, we should not have to choose between economic development and consumer protection. They should welcome the transparent reporting of how excellent these facilities are for communities.
Real leadership means asking tough questions before rushing the process of expanding billion-dollar infrastructure commitments that will reshape our communities and utility systems.
Georgia should not promote socialized risk for privatized profit. Georgians deserve transparency, protections and accountability before any new data centers are approved.
Amy Sharma, Ph.D., is the executive director of Science for Georgia, a nonprofit organization focused on getting science out of the lab and into service of society. She leads a coalition of data center responders and has co-authored a report, “Impacts of Projected Data Center Growth and Emerging Uncertainties on Power Demand in the Southeast.”
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