Data center surge strains grid, raises water and permitting questions, presenters tell Georgia committee

ATLANTA — Industry representatives told a legislative committee primer that rapid growth in data center capacity is creating significant new electricity demand, raising questions about generation, transmission and water use for Georgia communities.

Josh Levy, executive with the Data Center Coalition, told the panel that U.S. data center capacity could grow from roughly 25 gigawatts in 2024 to 80 gigawatts by 2030, and that trend is a key driver of the recent surge in power demand. "We need places to store, places to process that data," Levy said, adding that the industry’s expansion is helping make Georgia "a national leader in attracting data center investment."

The panel heard detailed industry context: PricewaterhouseCoopers data cited by Levy estimated Georgia’s data center industry supported about 30,070 direct jobs and more than 176,000 indirect and induced jobs in 2023, produced $14.1 billion in labor income, $25.7 billion in GDP and about $1.8 billion in state and local tax revenue.

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