LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — A Lowndes County resident is urging neighbors to conduct their own research on data centers after spending weeks studying their potential impact on land, water and local property rights, even as the industry and local officials point to significant economic benefits.

Chat Duboise, a local business owner, said he has been researching data centers through online sources after seeing posts about the facilities on social media.

“I haven’t seen any major benefits for data centers,” Duboise said.

Duboise said his research has focused on environmental concerns, including the clearing of natural land for the facilities and associated infrastructure.

“We’re seeing ecosystems torn down. We’re seeing animals, plants, trees being destroyed,” Duboise said.

He said the amount of lights coming from data center buildings will hurt migrating birds.

“The little lights on your house, they affect birds that are migrating from north to south,” Duboise said. “You’re going to see [data center lights] are affecting those things with the birds.”

Duboise said clearing land for power lines has already caused problems in the area.

“Even with the stuff that happened with the bees recently, all that’s from having to clear out all this land so that we can put these power lines through,” Duboise said.

Industry cites job creation, tax revenue

The data center industry has emphasized economic benefits in communities across the country and in South Georgia.

According to the Data Center Coalition, the U.S. data center industry directly contributed $162.7 billion in tax revenue to local, state and federal governments in 2023, a 146% increase from 2017.

County officials in South Georgia have supported data center development, citing job creation and tax revenue as key benefits for local communities.

The Data Center Coalition said each data center can employ dozens to hundreds of direct workers, with each job supporting six additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. Construction of data centers can employ hundreds of workers over multiple years, with some projects employing more than 1,000 workers at peak construction.

The industry also said data centers support ongoing trade jobs including electricians, pipefitters and heating and cooling technicians.

Land acquisition concerns

Duboise said one of his primary concerns involves how corporations acquire land for data center projects and power line routes.

“The land grabs, that’s the crazy part right now,” Duboise said. “The ability for a corporation to come in and say, ‘I’m going to take your whole backyard or I’m going to take your whole home.’ That blows my mind. Like, how did that happen?”

He said residents from other counties have reported losing their homes to make way for data center infrastructure.

Duboise said Lowndes County residents need to understand where power lines will be routed and which properties could be affected.

“Everybody has to get involved,” Duboise said.

Water usage during drought

Duboise also expressed concern about water consumption by data centers, particularly given recent drought conditions in the area.

He said his research indicated data centers use significantly more water than typical residential consumption.

“Just the numbers that I’ve looked up just recently was like something like $3,000 a day of water we use. The data centers are going to use like a million gallons,” Duboise said. “The number’s ridiculous.”

Duboise said recycled water cannot be used because steam from the machines evaporates, requiring a constant supply of fresh water.

“The droughts, our ground aquifers, where our quality water comes from, it’s a major concern,” Dubois said.

Lowndes County experienced drought conditions earlier this year. Officials warned residents not to burn due to wildfire risks in the area.

Economic concerns

Duboise said he sees potential benefits for business owners but questions the impact on average workers.

“I haven’t really seen any major benefits to the average American out here that’s trying to make $60,000 a year,” Dubois said.

He said data centers are connected to automation that could replace jobs.

“I’m a business owner. So I see how it’s going to benefit me as a business owner. I can replace a $40,000 employee with a $3,000 employee,” Duboise said. “But the other thing is the environmental impacts that I’m just not agreeing with.”

Duboise said the positives would only be the amount of money coming into the county.

“But if you’re going to replace how we think, we have to think about the long-term effects of this for our children, our grandkids,” Duboise said.

Call for local engagement

Duboise said residents should focus on local government decisions rather than national politics.

“I say it’s important right now, more than ever, for us to get involved in local decisions and local politics—more than anything national,” Duboise said.

He said residents have more direct access to local officials.

“We can walk up to the mayor here in town. We can walk up to the county commissioner. We can go talk to the sheriff, and we can get to the governor,” Duboise said. “We have much more power locally than we do trying to affect national policy.”

Duboise said residents need to elect officials who will protect local interests.

“It’s time for us to step up locally and figure this out and educate ourselves and put people in to these positions that are not going to sell us out,” Duboise said.

WALB will continue to cover this issue as the data center conversation evolves. Stay with us for further coverage.

Take a look at earlier coverage below from our 11 a.m. What’s Going On newscast:

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