Did you know there are multiple massive data centers coming to towns in our region? Some are still in the planning stages, but one site in Fayetteville is already well under construction.
The data center called QTS is owned by Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and is located north of Ga. Highway 54, east of Tyrone Road and Flat Creek Trail, and west of Veterans Parkway.
The 7 million square-foot data center complex on a 615-acre site will include up to 16 buildings with 6.6 million sq. ft .of data center space. That’s over 465 football fields, making it the world’s largest multi-tenant data center. Not exactly bragging rights for the citizens of Fayetteville who have to live with this behemoth and its resource-hungry appetite.
Just one of those resources is of course the enormous amount of energy that QTS will require. Georgia Power has been granted the contract for supplying power to the beast and is imposing easements on over 150 homeowners’ private properties, with 150 foot 230 kV (that’s 230,000 Volts!) transmission power lines going right through folks’ front and back yards.
Not surprisingly, local homeowners are strongly opposing the move, arguing that it threatens their property rights and values and disrupts their way of life and the beauty of Fayette County’s landscapes. They express concerns about the environmental and personal impact, pushing back against Georgia Power’s efforts to expand the data center’s energy grid at their expense.
A big question many of the affected citizens have is why aren’t they burying the lines, like they do in more affluent neighborhoods like Buckhead? Yes, it’s more expensive, but aren’t our citizens worth it?
There has also been talk of federal and state grants available to offset the costs. Why isn’t Georgia Power examining every possibility to make these new power lines more palatable to the good people of Fayette?
And after seeing the devastation of Hurricane Helene with its aftermath of downed power lines and communities without electricity into the unknown future, buried lines are even more necessary.
Another question is why did the Fayette County Development Authority sell local homeowners down the river without transparency and without looking at the true costs of welcoming the largest data center in the world to our doorstep instead of just thinking of the almighty dollar?
These data centers, power substations and high voltage power lines are making our beautiful county look like an industrialized zone.
One of the structures being impacted is the Historic Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery, which was established in 1825 and is a significant landmark in the region.
Hopeful’s Pastor Scott Johnson said, “Hopeful Baptist Church and cemetery, established in 1825, is opposed to industrial power poles and lines running down our beautiful New Hope Road next to the church. The church has asked Georgia Power to bury the lines. Georgia Power said it was too expensive.
“The church pointed out federal laws already passed that have billions of dollars set aside annually for this activity. Georgia Power said it was technically too difficult. The church pointed out that there are companies who can bury the lines for them like the Boring Company,” Johnson said.
Please show your support for the church by attending a protest rally to help save the church from an unsightly line going right in front of the church and cemetery. There will be a reporter covering this important story from New York City with Bloomberg News at the rally, along with other news outlets.
Here are the details:
Save Historic Hopeful Church Protest Rally — Thursday, October 10, 4–5:30 p.m., 1086 New Hope Rd, Fayetteville, GA 30214 (Hopeful Church intersection)
Time may not be on the side of folks in Fayetteville, but for citizens in Tyrone, Fairburn, Union City, Palmetto, and City of South Fulton, be warned. The QTS data center portends what’s coming for you next.
Suzan Beraza
Fayetteville, Ga.
It is these moments that will continue to prove to the general public (if they pay any attention at all) that your government is captured. They all are. Them “working for you” is just a marketing ploy. Gaslighting is their specialty.
Remember this when you are voting. Isn’t Mr Hicks a member of the Fayette County Development Authority. Was he someone responsible for selling out the citizens? What about the current commissioners? Did they vote for the change in zoning that led to that monstrosity? They all seem ready to point the finger and not take responsibility. The FCDA members are not voted in office, they hired. This office was developed by who, and why? If any of the current elected officials or those running had anything to do with this data center, do they deserve to be in office? That is the question you should be asking when you vote. Do these people represent the citizens of Fayette County and Fayetteville or do they represent the money? Vote wisely because it could be you next with utility poles, and construction vehicles in your yard.
The FCDA partnered with Fayetteville to annex the property and remove it from county control over zoning.
For those missing the opportunity for your family to experience life underneath a Georgia Power High Voltage transmission tower, fear not, you’ll still share in a little of the love monthly on your power bill to help pay for Plant Vogtle’s two new reactors cost overruns that came online this year.
SELC said households using 1000 KW-Hours per month can expect to have to dig a bit deeper in our purses for an addition $45 monthly by next year. The PSC approved this series of price hikes in Dec 2023 to reduce shareholders liability on cost overruns experienced on Plant Vogtle. QTS advertises the Fayetteville facility at half of the capacity created by Georgia Power’s share of the new reactor units.
QTS in 2022 negotiated a 20 year fixed rate deal with Georgia Power announced in one of their press releases and proudly proclaiming the lowest power rates in the Atlanta Market to their customers.
Plant Vogtle was justified more than a decade ago to replace existing aging fossil fueled plants with a green energy source. Data Centers are now rushing to Georgia because of the tax incentives and the low cost of consumer subsidized power. Now because of the tremendous demand for power with all the new data centers being constructed, Georgia Power in April received approval to build 3 more fossil fuel burning units in Coweta at Plant Yates.
Do Georgian’s really need to be subsidizing corporate profits through their power bills? The Governor and your elected officials need to end tax incentives to these massive data centers flocking to the state in search of cheap power and tax breaks. Kemp vetoed a bill passed already. Don’t let him do so again!
The PSC needs to pass the rate proportional to the entities creating the demand.
The PSC needs to require utilities to either use existing power easements and towers or bury their high voltage transmission lines in residential areas and non-industrial areas and send the bill to QTS. Nobody wants to live in what looks like an industrial area, much less raise a family there.
We need to let our politicians know now, before they break ground on new plants and only have the data centers flee the state in search of lower power prices leaving households to pay the capitol costs for over building.
I, too, am concerned with the impact on our electricity utility. You provided an interesting perspective with the PSC approving rate increases to offset stockholders’ liabilities. Using Other People’s Money (OPM) has helped many business investments.
Bend over GA Power coming thru.