Coweta County residents concerned over proposed 320-acre data center

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Some Coweta County residents are concerned over a proposed data center near Palmetto.

On Tuesday night, the county's Board of Commissioners held a public hearing to consider a rezoning request for the project.

What we know:

The development, known as "Project Peach," would span more than 320 acres off State Route 14.

According to a filing with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the project would span eight buildings and would be completed in 2036.

Developers say the buildings would be air-cooled, not water-cooled. 

What they're saying:

At Tuesday's meeting, many residents raised concerns about the project's proximity to the city's historic downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

 "On behalf of all Palmetto. i ask that you please consider the long time cost to our quality of life, our environment and our residents," Palmetto Mayor Theresa Thomas-Smith told the board.

Big picture view:

Demand for data centers has ballooned in recent years due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments in Georgia and across the country are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. 

Nearly 100 data centers are already established in Georgia. The majority of these are in the metro Atlanta area.

But as data centers begin to move into more densely populated areas, some residents are pushing back over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities.

In the last few months, residents in Bartow County and Douglas County have pushed back on the creation of new data centers. Bartow County put a 90-day moratorium on data centers in March while they studied the centers' impact on the area.

Last year, the Atlanta City Council approved ordinances prohibiting data centers around the Beltline or within a half-mile of transit centers such as MARTA stations or bus stops.