Coweta County approves massive 'Project Sail' data center

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Coweta County officials narrowly approved a massive data center campus Tuesday night despite intense pushback from local residents over the future of their rural community.

New industrial hub for Coweta

What we know:

The Coweta County Board of Commissioners, in a 3-2 vote, approved the rezoning of 829 acres off Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road from Rural Conservation to Industrial. 

Known as "Project Sail," the development by Atlas Development, LLC, will include nine buildings. 

Proponents argue the facility is a responsible way to grow the tax base to fund a new high school, noting its location near Georgia Power’s Plant Yates. 

What we don't know:

While the zoning is approved, officials have not yet confirmed specific construction start dates or which tech companies might eventually occupy the nine planned buildings.

Massive footprint near Wahoo Creek

By the numbers:

The scale of Project Sail is immense. At 4.34 million square feet, it is about twice the floor space of the Mall of Georgia and sits on land larger than the Georgia World Congress Center. 

The facility would rival the Meta Prineville Campus in Oregon, which boasts 4.6 million square feet, and the 4 million-square-foot Meta Richland Parish Campus currently under construction in Louisiana.

At 900 megawatts, the site will require power just under the total output a modern nuclear reactor can produce. Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle can produce upwards of 4,800 megawatts of power, with four active reactors running.

The nearby Plant Yates produces about 1,300 megawatts of power.

The 900 megawatts could power between 360,000 and 810,000 homes, depending on the size of the home and season.

The backstory:

Coweta County recently emerged from a moratorium on data centers that lasted from May to December 2025. This project was reviewed under a newly adopted data center ordinance. Although the county's 2021 Comprehensive Plan labeled this area for "Rural Places," planners noted that the plan did not account for the data center boom when it was written.

Neighbors fight 'irreparable harm'

What they're saying:

The project faced a wall of opposition. A law firm representing local citizens argued the approval would cause "irreparable harm" to their way of life and could violate constitutional due process. Residents also raised alarms about environmental impacts on Wahoo Creek and the need for more water permits from the Chattahoochee River.

"Project Sail" has become a flashpoint for debate, with some neighbors at a March 17 meeting calling it a necessary tax break for homeowners, while others see it as an erosion of their community.

Roundabouts and restoration plans

What's next:

The approval comes with 17 strict conditions. The developer must fund and build full-sized roundabouts at State Route 16’s intersections with Wagers Mill Road and Henry Bryant Road. 

The site must also maintain 300-foot buffers and protect a private cemetery on the property. If the facility stops operating for 12 straight months, a decommissioning plan requires the land to be returned to its natural state.

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