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Georgia Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Georgia — updated daily.
Recent Georgia data center news
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4.5-foot-thick walls needed to absorb data center noise: researcher
The article reports a commentary and technical guidance from biology professor Kasey Fowler-Finn on data center noise mitigation, rather than a new company announcement.
- Fowler-Finn says data centers emit low-frequency hum from large HVAC and cooling systems that can travel farther than high-frequency noise and may require 4.5-foot-thick walls at 63 Hz or 14-foot-thick walls at 20 Hz to mitigate.
- Her guidance recommends third-octave band sound pressure testing and setback distances of at least 1,500 feet; it also references lawsuits in Vineland, New Jersey; Dowagiac, Michigan; North Tonawanda, New York; and Hood County, Texas and a September survey by Science for Georgia and Quiet Communities.
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Responsible infrastructure at hyperscale: Managing the full lifecycle of Azure hardware
Microsoft has announced the expansion of its Circular Centers network to support reuse, refurbishment, and recycling of decommissioned cloud hardware alongside Azure growth.
- New Circular Centers have launched in Newport, Wales and Sydney, Australia, bringing the network to eight centers across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific; a new center is planned for San Antonio, Texas.
- Microsoft says its circular operations achieved a 92% reuse and recycling rate for decommissioned servers and components last year, and it is adding AI-powered automation such as robotic disassembly and autonomous material handling to speed recovery.
- The piece is a company blog / announcement about infrastructure operations and sustainability, not a third-party report.
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Building the Grid, Building Communities: Transmission Investment, Affordability, and Accountability in the Southeast
Troutman Pepper Locke attorneys Josh Combs and Andy Flavin discussed transmission investment, affordability, and accountability in the Southeast, with a focus on Virginia’s data center corridor and local responses to data center growth.
- The speakers described how utilities and regulators can require community engagement, local investment, and other tangible benefits from large customers while balancing customer bills, affordability, and economic development.
- They said Virginia had not enacted a severe state-level moratorium or repeal of data center incentives in the 2026 General Assembly session, but Loudoun County was discussing a possible local moratorium on data center permitting; they also noted Virginia localities generally retain siting authority over substations but not transmission lines.
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FabCon and SQLCon 2026 in Barcelona: Building the data foundation for Microsoft Copilot and agents
Microsoft has announced new innovations across Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and its database portfolio at FabCon/SQLCon Barcelona 2026.
- The announcement includes Fabric IQ integration with the new Microsoft Copilot, agentic app creation in Power BI Desktop, Fabric Apps enhancements, observability in Fabric, on-demand billing, and new database features across Database Hub and Azure SQL Database Hyperscale.
- Microsoft says Fabric IQ in Copilot Chat and Cowork is generally available today, Apps in Power BI will be in preview in the coming weeks, Database Hub in Fabric is in preview, SQL Server on Azure Local is generally available, and Azure SQL Database Hyperscale adds new capabilities including serverless auto-pause and DiskANN vector indexes.
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Building for AI, With AI: Law and Risk in the Data Center Decade
Alexandra C. “Allie” Apple and Anna Parks Muecke will present a seminar session titled “Building for AI, With AI: Law and Risk in the Data Center Decade” at Construction Law in Georgia on October 7, 2026, at Courtyard Atlanta Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia.
- The session runs from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM ET and focuses on how AI is changing construction practice while also driving data center construction growth.
- Topics include confidentiality, privilege, and evidentiary risk in AI-assisted work product, plus power, equipment, schedule risk, commissioning, and performance disputes on data center projects.
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Climate Change Solutions - September 22, 2026
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has published a climate-focused newsletter previewing an upcoming Super El Niño briefing and summarizing recent Capitol Hill activity.
- EESI announced an online briefing on Friday, September 25 at noon EDT about Super El Niño, with welcome remarks from Reps. Mike Flood and Eric Sorensen and RSVP links provided.
- The newsletter also notes the House and Senate action on several bills, including the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, the Ratepayer Protection Act affecting data center-related grid upgrades, and the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act; it also promotes EESI resources and a new podcast episode.
- This is a newsletter/update, not a standalone corporate deal announcement; it references prior and current legislative developments and upcoming events rather than announcing a new funding commitment.
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Congress Should Make the CHIPS Act’s Investment Tax Credit Permanent
ITIF has published an opinion article arguing that Congress should make the CHIPS Act’s Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit permanent.
- The article says Section 48D under the CHIPS and Science Act has helped drive more than 160 semiconductor projects across 30 states since 2020, with $825.8 billion in announced private investment.
- It notes the current construction deadline of December 31, 2026, says the credit was 25% originally and later increased to 35% for qualifying property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
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Google, Georgia Power Have Deal to Support Nuclear Power Plant Uprates
Georgia Power and Google have announced an agreement under which Google will support nuclear power uprates at Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle in Georgia, pending approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
- The deal would add about 96 MW of generation capacity to Georgia’s grid through extended power uprates at Plant Hatch Units 1 and 2 and previously approved uprates at Plant Vogtle Units 1 and 2.
- Georgia Power said the program could generate about $900 million in customer benefits over the life of the units; Google will subscribe to the new NU-1 tariff and receive zero-emission credits.
- The article also notes Google’s earlier September nuclear agreement with Fortum for up to 50% of output from Finland’s Loviisa nuclear plant over 22 years, valued at $15.1 billion.
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Google-backed pilot demonstrates hourly carbon accounting for US BESS using granular certificates
Google and its partners have announced a US battery storage pilot that created what they describe as the first environmental revenue stream for BESS assets, alongside NeoVolta’s US$53 million capacity reservation for Ontario AI data centre projects.
- The three-month pilot used hourly, time-stamped Granular Certificates to time-shift solar energy through esVolta’s Anole (240MW/480MWh) and Burksol (100MW/200MWh) projects, with Quintrace providing verification software and LevelTen Energy managing registry accounts and the transaction framework.
- The pilot covered 9.2GWh of charge/discharge activity and was positioned against emerging hourly reporting expectations from SBTi and the GHG Protocol; separately, NeoVolta Power agreed to supply BESS equipment for Northern Ontario Edge AI data centre projects in calendar year 2027 under a US$53 million binding capacity reservation, with a broader framework contemplating 1.1GWh and US$200 million of potential supply.
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US ROUNDUP: Eos draws US$87 million DOE loan, FlexGen-Lightshift expand to 16 projects, Georgia Power energises 128MW facility
This roundup reports three separate announcements by Eos Energy Enterprises, FlexGen Power Systems with Lightshift Energy, and Georgia Power.
- Eos Energy Enterprises received a US$87 million advance under the second tranche of its DOE loan agreement; the reimbursement covers 80% of eligible costs at the Thorn Hill manufacturing facility in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.
- The company says Line 2 entered commercial production in June 2026 and is ramping toward ~2GWh annual capacity, with Eos expecting ~4GWh across two lines after Line 1 is relocated; separately, FlexGen and Lightshift are expanding to 16 BESS projects across Massachusetts, Virginia and Vermont, and Georgia Power has brought the 128MW Robins Battery Facility online near Warner Robins, Georgia.