HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — The Henry County Zoning Advisory Board gave the green light, approving plans for one data center -- but denying plans for a second. Even with that denial, residents voiced their concerns over both locations.
The board approved the data center off Rocky Creek Road in a vote of 3-2. The data center proposed off Strickland Road was denied, with one board member explaining that the main reason was its proximity to homes.
During the discussion, both data centers were met with concerns from the community Thursday night.
"Because I want Henry County to stay a good place for families, a good place to live," said 26-year-resident Lynda Kerr. "That's why I chose to live here. And data centers are not going to do that."
Kerr, along with more than 10 others, spoke up during the meeting.
"It's so obviously bad for this community," Kerr said. "We shouldn't have to come fight this battle. It should be obvious this is not helpful for people's lives, for the place to live."
The list of concerns included water, electricity and environmental impacts.
"But the worst thing probably of all is the noise," Kerr said. "They can't make this constant buzz or a hum."
Even though one was denied, both data center proposals will now head to the commissioners meeting next week for discussion.
"I'm hoping that they tell the companies that want to do this to go somewhere else," Kerr said.
Background on two proposed Henry County data centers
Red Wolf DCD Properties LLC proposed a 1.2 million-square-foot data center off of Strickland Road, according to documents filed with the state. The company plans to complete the project by 2028, and these initial plans represent 50% of the overall development.
Red Wolf filed an application for another data center project of the same size off of Rocky Creek Road, also in Henry County, in May.
While these projects continue to grow, however, there are concerns regarding the amount of water and electricity data centers consume, especially with the growing demand for electricity in the Southeast. The centers also do not bring very many permanent jobs.
However, these projects do bring construction jobs and tax revenue, which could be an incentive for some municipalities looking to grow their budgets.