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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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Data center developers ousted from Monterey Park as voters approve permanent ban
Monterey Park has permanently banned data centers via Measure NDC.
- Measure NDC approved: More than 86% of voters approved a permanent ban on data centers in Monterey Park, codifying a moratorium in effect since late January; the ban bars any new computing facilities inside city limits and can only be overturned by another citywide vote. Key local facts: city population ~62,000, a proposed 250,000-square-foot data center by HMC Capital had its application withdrawn in April.
- Context and background: The article documents broader regional and state-level resistance — mentions a massive Box Elder County project backed by investor Kevin O’Leary, states that have introduced moratoriums or bans (Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont), and notes Maine’s legislature passed a statewide moratorium bill that was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills.
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Google’s water stewardship commitments for local communities
Google is announcing new water stewardship commitments to responsibly manage water at its data centers and to replenish more water than it consumes by 2030.
- Main announcement: Google commits to replenish more water than it consumes at its sites by 2030, listing five specific commitments (replenishment ambition, infrastructure modernization, air-cooled solutions for at-risk watersheds, transparent annual reporting, and pursuing reclaimed water). In 2025 Google replenished more than 7 billion gallons, currently manages 165 water stewardship projects across 97 watersheds, and states that projects (once fully implemented) are expected to replenish more than 19 billion gallons annually by 2030. Google is also evaluating more than 700 projects submitted to its Water Replenishment RFI.
- Background and implementation details: Google says it has committed over $500 million to water, wastewater and water reuse infrastructure to date and is announcing $17 million in support of new projects across seven U.S. states (Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas). Example partners/actions include Ducks Unlimited (wetlands enhancement, Flint River WMA), The Great Outdoors Foundation + Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (convert 5,000 acres to perennial systems), Huron River Watershed Council (expand green infrastructure), Trust for Public Land (restore 84 acres of floodplain forest), and local utility programs such as Metropolitan Utilities District’s leak detection; many projects are ongoing and repayment/implementation timelines target completion/increase in replenishment by 2030.
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Can Data Centers Really Lower Electric Bills?
DTE Energy, Indiana Michigan Power and Georgia Power have each advanced claims that large data centers could lower electricity bills for existing customers.
- Main announcement/action: Utilities (DTE Energy, Indiana Michigan Power, Georgia Power) argue that large data-center load growth can reduce overall customer rates if revenues from hyperscale customers are allocated to rate relief; examples include Indiana Michigan Power’s 3.6% customer-bill reduction tied to an operating Google data center and DTE’s projection of roughly $300 million annually in affordability benefits if planned data-center projects come online.
- Background and implementation details: Regulatory approvals and safeguards vary: Georgia Power won approval to lower overall bills while preserving a base-rate freeze through 2028 and projects >8 GW of load growth through 2030; Indiana’s settlement requires 20-year service agreements, enhanced collateral, and minimum billing obligations equal to 90% of contracted demand to limit stranded-cost risk; DTE has proposed pausing future rate requests for at least two years contingent on projects materializing.
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Targeted Pressure: How Chinese Manufacturing Competition Impacts US States
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has published a report finding Chinese industrial policy is reshaping global manufacturing and harming industries across every U.S. state.
- Main finding & method: The ITIF report (June 1, 2026) analyzes one “national power industry” per state using County Business Patterns employment data, HS/SITC export proxies, and global market-share series to conclude that state-backed Chinese subsidies, export pushes, and overcapacity are driving down prices and pressuring U.S. producers in sectors such as semiconductors, batteries, aircraft, and fabricated metals.
- Key facts, numbers, and timelines:China plans ~$150 billion in semiconductor investment through 2030 vs. $52 billion under the U.S. CHIPS funding; the report cites $63.3 billion Chinese semiconductor spending in H1 2025, TSMC’s $165 billion U.S. investment announcement, GE Appliances’ $490 million Appliance Park investment (2025), and state/national export shares and HS-code trade series used throughout the analyses.
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The Breaking Points: Water Is the New Constraint for AI Data Centers
Data Center Knowledge reports that water infrastructure constraints are emerging as a major limit on AI data center expansion.
- Main finding: Large AI data center proposals are requesting multi‑MGD water capacities (example: a Virginia campus requested up to 2 MGD initially, with potential future demand up to 8 MGD) and explicitly require continuous evaporative cooling for uninterrupted operations; these projected demands often exceed municipal water and wastewater planning assumptions.
- Background and specifics: Researchers’ paper “Small Bottle, Big Pipe” estimates U.S. data centers could require 697 million to 1.45 billion gallons/day of new water capacity through 2030; Texas’ draft 2027 State Water Plan estimates roughly $174 billion in water infrastructure projects may be needed over the next 50 years to meet growing AI demand and related upgrades (reservoirs, treatment, reclaimed-water networks).
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US ROUNDUP: BESS news from NeoVolta, Goshe, Frontier Power & Stella and Prevalon
Energy-Storage.news reports multiple BESS announcements from NeoVolta, Goshe Energy Storage, Frontier Power USA, and Prevalon Energy.
- Main announcements:NeoVolta signed an LOI with Infinite Grid Capital for procurement from its Pendergrass, Georgia factory (initial production capacity 2GWh, scalable to 8GWh; LOI identifies ~1.1GWh of initial utility-scale opportunities — ~400MWh in West Texas, ~400MWh in Puerto Rico, ~300MWh in PJM). Goshe Energy Storage secured a HoldCo debt facility up to US$40 million from S2G Investments and closed US$288 million in project-level financing for its first 100MW ERCOT asset (company reports >US$460 million total capital raised to date). Prevalon launched the HD5 AC factory-integrated AC block BESS and Nextpower agreed to acquire Prevalon.
- Background and implementation details: NeoVolta’s Pendergrass plant is built for an initial annual 2GWh output and is on track to ramp in Q3 (this year); NeoVolta additionally priced a public offering of 12,195,122 shares at US$2.05 per share (~US$25 million gross proceeds expected). FPUSA executed a strategic framework with Stella to convert Stella’s 2GWh pipeline, tied to FPUSA’s 2GWh capacity reservation with Eos, and FPUSA will fund 100% of construction equity on conversion terms consistent with prior transactions.
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Cogent Communications to Sell 10 Data Centers to I Squared Capital
Cogent Communications has agreed to sell 10 data centers to I Squared Capital for $225 million in cash.
- Transaction details: Cogent is selling 10 data center facilities to I Squared Capital for $225 million (cash); the deal is expected to close in Q3 2026. The portfolio provides approximately 53 megawatts of power capacity and about 259,000 square feet of colocation space across nine U.S. markets (Phoenix; Anaheim, CA; Burbank, CA; Stockton, CA; Atlanta; Chicago; Elkridge, MD; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; Houston).
- Platform and investment plan:I Squared Capital will create a new U.S. data center operating platform focused on high-density deployments, colocation and AI inference infrastructure, and plans to invest $1 billion via customer-led expansion, capital investment and additional acquisitions; the facilities are fee simple, liquid-cooling enabled with room for expansion and positioned near local internet exchanges. I Squared is described as a Miami-based infrastructure investor with about $60 billion in assets under management.
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US energy storage installations hit Q1 record, up 32% year over year: SEIA
SEIA reported record 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage installed in Q1 2026.
- Main announcement: SEIA said the U.S. installed 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage in Q1 2026 (a 32% YoY increase), with commercial & industrial 648 MWh, utility-scale 1.5 GW / 7.8 GWh, and residential 515 MWh; Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (for SEIA) forecasts 613 GWh of U.S. storage deployment by 2030.
- Background and details: SEIA and Benchmark highlighted data centers as a major driver (example: Meta + Enbridge will build 365 MW solar colocated with 200 MW / 1.6 GWh of Tesla batteries to support a Cheyenne, WY data center with 8-hour discharge capability); SEIA also flagged 101 GW of clean projects under political threat and said 36% of projects due by 2030 could be affected; 13 states have storage targets and cumulative deployment leaders include California 60.6 GWh, Texas 29.2 GWh, Arizona 20.2 GWh.
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Cogent to Sell Phoenix Data Center as Part of $225 Million National Portfolio Deal
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has announced the sale of 10 U.S. data center facilities to an I Squared Capital-sponsored entity for $225 million in cash.
- Sale details: Cogent will sell 10 facilities located in Phoenix, Anaheim, Burbank, Stockton, Atlanta, Chicago, Elkridge, Kansas City, Nashville, and Houston for $225 million in cash; the transaction is expected to close on the later of June 12, 2026 or the expiration/termination of the applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. (Cogent’s Tucson data center is not included in the announced sale.)
- Portfolio & financing: The acquired portfolio comprises approximately 53 megawatts of installed power capacity and approximately 259,000 square feet of colocation space across nine U.S. markets; I Squared Capital has committed up to $1 billion to build the new U.S. data center operating platform via capital investment, customer-led expansion, and additional acquisitions. Proceeds from the sale are expected to support Cogent deleveraging tied to its 2023 Sprint wireline acquisition and will be contributed to Cogent Communications Group (its borrowing entity).
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Utilities May Get an AI Boom the Grid Wasn’t Built For
AEP Ohio reported in a February filing that its speculative data center queue, initially exceeding 30,000 MW, fell to 5,642 MW after requiring binding financial and legal commitments under a new data center tariff (DCT).
- Main announcement: AEP Ohio’s February filing states the DCT requirement reduced speculative queue from >30,000 MW to 5,642 MW; the utility says the remaining committed load will be used for PJM Interconnection transmission planning and that the DCT’s primary purpose was to flush out speculative and uncommitted data center load.
- Context and supporting details: The article contrasts training vs. inference load shapes, cites Jigar Shah on differing policy levers (long-term procurement and behind-the-meter generation for training vs. flexible interconnection, interruptible tariffs, and demand response for inference), and documents ongoing efforts: EPRI, Nvidia, InfraPartners, and Prologis collaborating on a distributed compute demonstration for 5–20 MW AI sites; an E3 whitepaper warning about multi-gigawatt forecasting swings; a Duke University study finding roughly 100 GW of potentially stranded capacity if data centers curtailed 0.5% during peaks; and EPRI’s DCFlex pilots of grid-interactive data center concepts.