Data center growth will raise power demand but bring jobs and tax revenue, industry tells Resource Management panel

Representatives of the data center industry, Amazon Web Services and local officials told the Resource Management committee that rapid expansion of digital infrastructure is increasing electricity demand and producing measurable local economic benefits. Maria Saab, representing AWS, said the company will invest $11,000,000,000 in Georgia to build cloud infrastructure in Butts and Douglas counties.

The discussion focused on two linked issues: ensuring reliable, timely power and managing water use for cooling. Josh Levy of the Data Center Coalition said Georgia “has become a national leader in the attracting data center investment and deploying the digital infrastructure that supports our innovation economy.” He cited PricewaterhouseCoopers figures showing the industry generated about $1,800,000,000 in state and local tax revenue in 2023 and supported roughly 30,070 direct jobs and more than 176,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

Levy and other speakers warned that power demand from data centers is part of a broader rise in electricity needs driven by onshoring of manufacturing, electrification, hydrogen production and the growth of artificial intelligence. “Supporting this electricity demand through timely and prudent investments in distribution infrastructure is essential to our national economic growth,” Levy said, adding that data centers are committed to paying their “full cost of service” and working with utilities and regulators.

Maria Saab described AWS’s design and operational steps to lower energy and water impacts, saying AWS pursues energy efficiency and water stewardship across facility layers and has invested in renewable generation. Saab told the committee AWS expects to use free-air (outside) cooling “about 94% of the time,” meaning water-based cooling would be needed for roughly 6% of operating hours; she also said some AWS sites run solely on recycled water and that AWS tracks water use in real time.

Local officials said the near-term fiscal impacts are already visible. Ed Johnson, mayor of Fayetteville, said the QTS project in his city will eventually house multiple clients and that property tax collections on the site rose from roughly $36,000 in 2023 before the project to about $1,130,000 in recent months as construction advanced. “When they’re built out completely, they will have 10,000,000 square feet of space in the City of Fayetteville,” Johnson said, urging committee members to weigh local infrastructure and school impacts alongside tax receipts.

Committee members and presenters framed the session as an initial briefing: speakers asked the legislature to coordinate with utilities and regulators on timely transmission and distribution investments, to consider local site constraints when planning capacity, and to continue committee briefings and site visits. No formal committee votes or directives were recorded at this meeting.