Coastal Georgia data center lockdown? Local governments impose moratoriums.

Those issues under scrutiny include water and electricity use, noise and air pollution and impacts on roads and transportation infrastructure as well as quality of life.

Several other local governments in metro Savannah have temporarily banned data centers in recent months, including industrial-heavy jurisdictions such as Bloomingdale, Garden City, Bulloch County and Camden County.

Legislative activity has increased in the weeks since July 22, when OpenAI announced plans to build a $20 billion, 4 million-square-foot data center campus in an industrial park in Effingham County, about a 30-minute drive from downtown Savannah. The moratorium push gained more momentum after the Aug. 12 unveiling of a data center feasibility study in Jesup, about 90 minutes from Savannah.

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer

Effingham’s zoning ordinance allows data centers “by right” on land designated for heavy industrial use, and OpenAI required local government officials to sign nondisclosure agreements as the deal was under negotiation. That kept the project secret from residents — and prompted significant backlash following the announcement. Several residents have vowed legal challenges.

Savannah seeks to avoid such controversy with its moratorium. Mayor Van Johnson, who speaks for the city on legislative matters, did not respond to requests for comment or interviews. He plans to address the moratorium during his weekly media briefing later Tuesday.

But in a conversation on Aug. 1 at the Georgia Democratic Convention, Johnson said the city needed to strengthen its zoning ordinance as it relates to data centers. He said one solution may be to designate data centers a “special use” that would require proposals be reviewed by the local planning commission and city council.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Savannah has yet to draw interest from large-scale data center developers, said Trip Tollison with the Savannah Economic Development Authority. However, smaller operators have explored repurposing empty buildings within the city limits for server farms.

Savannah has several million square feet of vacant warehouse space as well as several shuttered industrial sites. These include the former International Paper mill, which closed last year, and the SeaPoint Industrial Terminal, a 226-acre site once home to a chemical plant.

Savannah’s moratorium targets projects involving 10 megawatts or more of electricity and 200,000 square feet or more of industrial space.

Being proactive is prudent for local governments given data center trends, said Jeff Beauvais with conservation and environmental advocacy nonprofit One Hundred Miles. Georgia is second only to Northern Virginia as a data center hub, with about 160 active and planned facilities, according to marketing firm Datacenters.com.

“It’s an important step, but governments must use moratoriums to craft strong, community-centered laws that reflect the will of residents,” Beauvais said. “And if data centers truly want to be good neighbors, they should have no problem agreeing to the neighborhood rules — even if that means staying out.”