Artificial intelligence is something you might not be able to see in the real world, but it’s fuelling a boom of data centers in the state of Georgia which is boosting the construction industry.
The Peach State is now one of the fastest-growing markets in the U.S. for data centers. In 2024, Atlanta was the top city in the U.S. for new facilities. As of mid-2024, data center construction had increased 76 per cent in the Atlanta market, compared to the same time in 2023.
The state has nearly 160 major power-hungry data centers for leading global companies and tech giants and is now gearing up for 11 more additions that will put pressure on the power grid as the centers consume 10 to 50 times as much electricity as the average commercial building.
To prepare, Georgia Power is pumping funds into proposed necessary investments in its generation and transmission system. It has filed a plan with the public service commission, estimating 90 large industrial projects could be built in Georgia before the end of the decade.
The utility is planning investments in existing nuclear power facilities at its Vogtle and Hatch plants, upgrades to its Plant McIntosh near Savannah, modernization of its hydroelectric generating stations, and replacement and refurbishment projects at nine existing hydro plants.
The area around Atlanta is the main area of activity.
Sailfish Investors, a real estate investment and operating platform, is planning a 1.78-million-square-foot data center outside the city of Social Circle, southeast of Atlanta. The project is expected to be completed by January 2027.
The company is also in the early stages of developing 13 data center campuses across the U.S. in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, Austin and Charlotte.
Atlas Development has filed an application to build a $17-billion, 13-building data center campus in Union City, southwest of Atlanta. Known as Project Sail, the campus would be built on 832 acres of land near the city of Newnan, 45 miles south of Atlanta in Coweta County. Atlas is asking for rezoning permission for the land.
Burr Computer Environments has filed to develop a 2.1-million-square-foot campus along and to the east of Stonewall Tell Road, and north of South Fulton Parkway in Union City. The project is set to start in 2026.
RSC Investment Management has filed to build a 1.9-million-square-foot data center outside Atlanta to be known as the Stonewall Tell Data Center. The campus will be located along and to the east of Stonewall Tell Road, and south of South Fulton Parkway.
In the Rome area of Georgia, at least three data centers are proposed.
One, known as Project Sassy, is planned on 15 acres along Highway 53 across from a Lowe’s distribution center. The developers entered an option with the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority for the property in December.
The second data center is planned on a 114-acre plot next to Coosa High School in Floyd County. Specifications of the project have not yet been shared.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning a new data center campus on a 347-acre property on Huffaker Road, east of Fouche Gap Road. The venture, known as Project Firecracker, will cost $1 billion. The company is planning for the center to go live by 2028.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is planning to invest around $11 billion in separate data centers in Butts County southeast of Atlanta and Douglas County west of Atlanta that will create 550 jobs.
A 1.3-million-square-foot data center is also planned by Stream Data Centers along Jason Industrial Parkway and North Baggett Road in Douglas County. The complex will consist of nine data center buildings and two substations. Project timelines have not yet been announced.
About 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, Northern Data Group has started design work for a data center facility on a 63-acre site in Maysville. The complex is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2027.
And, on a 615-acre site In Fayetteville, south of Atlanta, QTS is building a massive data center campus called Project Excalibur that is expected to include up to 16 buildings with a significant amount of data storage space. The venture is expected to cost more than $1 billion.
According to the state, Georgia is a popular location for data centers because it has a deep pool of talent, robust telecom infrastructure and low cost of business. Two of the country’s largest fiber routes which run north-south and east-west intersect in metro Atlanta, along with major research lines.
The state notes the location of Atlanta and Georgia, tucked in the southeastern seaboard, makes it less vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters that may cause business disruption and interrupt productivity.
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