Concerns raised over energy and water future with Ga. data centers
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Data centers are popping up all over Georgia. These facility are equipped with high-performance servers and computers to store data.
They require massive amounts of power and water to keep them going and cool them down.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development estimates there are more than 50 data centers in Georgia.
The GDEC website boasts Georgia is the epicenter of information sharing with 70% of all financial transactions through Georgia.
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The U.S. International Trade Commission reports a mid-sized data center consumes around 300,000 gallons of water a day. That equates to 1,000 homes in the same 24-hour period.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports, a midsized data center consumes 1-5 megawatts of power a day. That equates to the same amount of energy used to power 500- 5000 Georgia homes.
Vested interests packed a State Capitol meeting room for a bill hearing in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. There were not enough seats, as many people were forced to stand.
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State Senator Chuck Hofstetler presented Senate Bill 34. He testified the bill would keep the cost of building new facilities to generate power for data centers would not be ed onto customers.
At a meeting, Aaron Mitchell with Georgia Power testified Georgia Power is ramping up energy production to meet an increased need.
Georgia’s Public Service Commission approved their case for 3,300 megawatts of new power generation.
Mitchell said the additional voltage should be online by 2027.
“Georgia Power has committed that residential customers won’t pay for the new capacity,” said Mitchell.
The room erupted in noise, as many frustrated ratepayers and watchdog appeared unconvinced after several rate increases.
“Its the old hey, just trust us, We’re going to do the right thing, but I’m losing faith,” said Sen. John Albers who voted to SB 34.
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Power customer John Duke was the only person allowed to speak during public comment after several long discussions. Duke testified that ratepayers can’t afford for the bill not to .
“There are some Senators here who are not for this and the reason is why? Who are you fighting for- your constituents or Georgia Power?,” asked Duke to the committee .
The bill ed out of committee 8-3 with bipartisan .
Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch was one of the no votes.
“We’re treating them differently than we do the other big manufacturers in Georgia. I think we should look at them all as one and not separate them by industry,” said Leader Gooch.
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The Senate committee are not alone in concern for data centers.
Speaker of the House Jon Burns announced a special study committee dedicated to developing a statewide resources plan. He announced the committee in January and said the state needs to it’s economic development project.
State Rep. Brad Thomas agreed to serve as Chairman. He is excited about the future of the Artificial Intelligence space, while remaining concerned about the conservation of state resources.
“We really need to be careful to make sure that China doesn’t out-compute us. This is something that is going to have to make a part of our strategy moving forward... [AI] can impact so much of our life that healthcare, education, transportation, the way we manage our energy grid though these data centers,” said Rep. Thomas.
Thomas said while in their first weeks, they’ve met with power and water management companies. He wants to look 20 years down the line to make sure Georgia has the computational power needed to growth.
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