The Putnam County Board of Commissioners approved an amended three-month moratorium on new data centers, battery energy storage facilities and solar farms, effective Aug. 18.
The decision followed more than 90 minutes of debate, including discussions over whether the county needed as much as a year to develop regulations or should impose a shorter pause to force action.
District 3 Commissioner Steve Hersey, who placed the matter on the board’s agenda, originally proposed a moratorium of up to 12 months. He said the purpose was not to permanently block development, but to give the county time to study regulations and practices in other communities before crafting rules appropriate for Putnam County.
Hersey argued that data centers, solar farms and battery storage facilities should be considered together because of their potential relationship to electricity generation and consumption. He appeared particularly concerned that excluding battery storage from the moratorium could leave a gap in the county’s regulations.
District 1 Commissioner Tom McElhenney initially sought to shorten the moratorium to six months and exclude battery storage. McElhenney said commissioners had already spent nearly a year working on the issue and warned that a lengthy moratorium could become another delay without producing regulations. He argued the county already has the ability to impose conditions on individual projects under its existing rules.
District 2 Commissioner Richard Garrett pushed for the shorter three-month period that was ultimately adopted. He said the public clearly wanted the county to address the issue but also did not want a moratorium to become an excuse for continued inaction.
Garrett described his three-month proposal as a compromise between residents seeking additional protections and commissioners who want to move quickly toward permanent regulations.
“We like solar farms, we like battery storage, we even like data centers,” Garrett said, arguing that a three-month deadline would create the time constraint needed to produce actual regulations.
Garrett also proposed holding at least two town hall meetings to gather public input, followed by revisions to the county’s draft ordinance and a formal public hearing. He suggested one meeting in August and another during the first half of September, with a possible vote on permanent regulations in October.
Earlier this week, the county announced the first meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, in Room 203 of the county administration building, 117 Putnam Drive, Eatonton.
Public speakers largely supported a moratorium but differed on how it should be applied.
During public comments, commission candidate Jennifer Ray said a moratorium should provide time for the county to study the long-term consequences of rapidly evolving technologies. She urged commissioners to consider potential effects on roads, water, electricity, emergency services and taxpayers before approving any projects.
Citizen Miriam Hatcher urged a 12-month moratorium and argued that data centers should be restricted to industrially zoned property rather than agricultural land. She also called for safeguards to protect Lake Sinclair and the county’s other water resources.
District 3 citizen Bill Vargo supported additional regulation but said a yearlong pause would be excessive. He said substantial information is already available from Georgia Tech and Georgia Power, arguing that the county could use those resources to accelerate its work rather than spend a year or more studying the issue on its own.
The board ultimately approved Garrett’s three-month proposal covering all three types of development. The amended motion passed with support from McElhenney, Garrett and Chairman Bill Sharp. District 3 Commissioner Steve Hersey voted no, while District 4 Commissioner Jeff Wooten was absent.
The moratorium applies only to new facilities and does not affect existing solar farms, of which Putnam County has two large-scale fields.
County Attorney Adam Nelson also advised commissioners to use the definitions of data centers and battery energy storage systems developed as part of the county’s draft regulatory work, clarifying which facilities are covered by the moratorium.