As data centers eye Monroe County, officials look to other communities for lessons learned

County officials review power, water and transparency concerns following a statewide webinar on data center expansion

FORSYTH, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- As interest from major technology companies continues to grow in Monroe County, county leaders are weighing how data centers could affect land use, utilities, and transparency for residents.

District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland released a detailed summary this week of a January 6th webinar hosted by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, outlining what commissioners learned as they consider how to or if they should accommodate data center development locally.

The discussion comes at a time when Monroe County has already taken steps to slow the process. Commissioners recently voted against a request from Google to sign a non-disclosure agreement tied to a planned facility.

Transparency concerns tied to data center growth

County officials said the NDA request raised concerns because Georgia’s Open Records Act requires counties to release public records allowed under state law, regardless of private agreements.

That vote has drawn attention from residents and digital-privacy advocates who say the arrival of large technology companies can test how much information local governments are allowed or required to share with the public.

Rowland said the ACCG webinar helped frame those concerns within a broader statewide and national context.

Benefits come with trade-offs

According to Rowland, the webinar opened with remarks from Loudoun County, Virginia Supervisor Mike Turner, whose county hosts one of the largest concentrations of data centers in the country.

Turner said data centers can provide significant tax revenue but often at a lower return rate than other forms of development. He said counties typically spend about four cents for every dollar generated by data centers, compared with about 25 cents for other businesses, and up to a dollar for residential development.

Turner said many costs tied to data centers are indirect, including the loss of land for other uses, increased strain on power infrastructure, the need for large buffers to limit noise and visual impacts, and concerns over emissions.

He also walked through power-generation realities, noting that solar and wind are limited options locally, natural gas is cleaner than coal but still produces emissions, and that hydrogen fuel cells and micro nuclear reactors may be future solutions. In the meantime, he said delaying the closure of coal plants remains a reality as demand increases.

Planning guidance for local governments

Rowland said Turner encouraged counties to focus on five key factors when reviewing data center proposals: sight, setback, sound, emissions and power.

A representative from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs explained that the state’s Development of Regional Impact process was updated in December 2025 to include technological facilities such as data centers. The process is meant to promote communication among governments, not to regulate or delay projects.

During the webinar, a representative from Spalding County, which has experience hosting data centers outside a major metro area, said it was important to set clear expectations early. The manager said data centers can be quiet neighbors and provide stable tax revenue if strong guardrails are in place. Those include firm buffer requirements, Tier 4 generators, closed-loop cooling systems, limits on where facilities can be built, and clear decommissioning plans if a site is no longer used. The county also stressed the need for good neighbor design elements such as lighting controls, noise reduction and screening, along with inspection rights and regular progress reports to hold developers accountable.

Power and water demands raise questions

Rowland added that Georgia Public Service Commission Chairman Jason Shaw said the rapid expansion of data centers caught communities, regulators, and utilities off guard. Shaw said projected power demand surged dramatically in 2023 due to data center growth. While the PSC has approved large increases in generating capacity, he said its role is to ensure power remains reliable and affordable for the public.

According to Rowland, environmental groups participating in the webinar raised concerns about water use, diesel backup generators, and long-term sustainability. Representatives from the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center urged counties to require accurate information from developers, involve water authorities early, and consider moratoriums when needed.

Monroe County cited as taking action

Rowland noted that Monroe County was mentioned during the webinar as one of the most recent counties to enact a data center moratorium, with Crawford County following soon after.

He said commissioners must now decide how to balance economic opportunity with infrastructure demands, environmental concerns and residents’ expectations for transparency.

“These are the open and transparent comments from the webinar presenters as to their thoughts, concerns, and direction on how to proceed with data centers,” Rowland wrote. “We, as a board, must take all this information and make decisions on the industry as it applies to our county.”