On Monday, Georgia introduced a bill proposing a statewide moratorium on new data centers as concerns grow over the environmental and economic impacts of these power-intensive facilities, particularly as they support the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
The bill, spearheaded by state Democratic legislator Ruwa Romman, aims to halt such projects until March of next year. While Maryland and Oklahoma also introduced state legislatures in the last week, Georgia is leading the push against the surge in data centers.
The proposed legislation follows a significant decision last month by Georgia’s public service commission, which approved a historic 10-gigawatt energy plan largely driven by datacenter demands. This capacity is enough to power approximately 8.3 million homes and will primarily rely on fossil fuels.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had proposed a national moratorium on data centers last month.
Are Datacenters Threatening Georgia’s Environment?
The rapid development of datacenters raises multiple concerns, including increased electricity costs and water usage. It’s unclear how many data centers there are in Georgia, but some groups like Science for Georgia and Baxtel estimate that the number is between 100 and 200.
The opposition to data centers by locals in Georgia is also fueled by their contribution to lost tax revenue and the strain on local resources. This has prompted legislative efforts to end tax breaks for datacenters and mandate transparency in their energy and water consumption.
Image via Shutterstock
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