As data center development continues spreading outward from metro Atlanta, Putnam County may eventually find itself on the radar of companies searching for sites capable of supporting the next generation of digital infrastructure.
That was the message delivered last month by Middle Georgia Regional Commission Director of Planning and Public Administration Greg Boike to the Putnam County Board of Commissioners.
Boike said modern data centers operate on a scale far beyond that of most traditional industrial developments, particularly in terms of electricity consumption.
“A small one of those could be close to about 200 megawatts of usage,” Boike said of hyperscale data centers. “The large ones, perhaps even up to 1,000 megawatts, or a gigawatt of energy.”
To put that in perspective, Boike noted that a single unit at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle nuclear facility produces approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity, meaning a large data center could consume nearly that much power on its own.
While those figures may sound alarming, Boike emphasized that utilities plan years in advance to accommodate major users.
“If you talk to any power company, they will tell you that they will find a way to meet these energy demands,” Boike said.
District 2 Commissioner Richard Garrett asked how cautious communities should be amid the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and data center investment.
“I think when any new technology bursts onto the scene, you often have a period of hype and overinvestment,” Garrett said. “How cautious should we be on that dimension, or about getting caught up in the hype of these things, making a bet on something that then proves economically unviable in the short term?”
Boike acknowledged the uncertainty, noting that many projects remain speculative and utilities do not assume every approved project will ultimately come to fruition.
“The more speculative the nature of the development is, the more important I would say it is to be cautious,” Boike said.
Water use emerged as another major topic during the discussion. District 4 Commissioner Jeff Wooten suggested water availability may ultimately be a larger concern than electricity.
“I’m a little concerned about the water issues,” he said. “Electricity, I don’t think we’re going to have a problem. Somebody’s going to find a way to get the electrical there.”
Wooten pointed to existing limitations facing the Sinclair Water Authority and suggested future growth may require regional cooperation among local governments and utilities.
“I think water’s going to be your biggest problem,” he said.
Boike explained that some data centers use evaporative cooling systems that require significant amounts of water, while others employ closed-loop systems that consume comparatively little water. Among recently proposed Middle Georgia projects, he said water demand has ranged from about 10,000 gallons per day for a closed-loop facility in Twiggs County to as much as 2 million gallons per day for a proposed data center in Monroe County.
“Depending on the type of technology that’s proposed, the location that you’re at, the potential scale and impacts can be drastically different on the water management side,” he said.
“The impact that you might see from water usage is not inherently going to be significantly different whether you have something called a data center or something that is another type of industrial user,” Boike added.
However, Boike also stressed that long-term planning and partnerships will be critical.
“The theoretical capacity absolutely exists,” he said. “That does not inherently mean that the exact storage, pumping, treatment, distribution system, and infrastructure are all there ready to go.”
Still, the Upper Oconee watershed remains one of Georgia’s strongest regions for long-term water availability, Boike said, adding that Putnam County is “currently in the very enviable position of being in good shape through 2060 regarding your water and your sewer management.”
Several other factors could make Putnam County attractive to future developers, Boike said, including extensive electrical transmission infrastructure remaining from the former Plant Branch facility on the south side of the county near Lake Sinclair and the county’s location along the path of development spreading outward from metro Atlanta.
“Developers may be looking to Putnam County as a potential site because of that infrastructure you already have,” Boike said.
Boike repeatedly stressed that Putnam County does not need to decide now whether to support or oppose data center construction. However, he suggested that local governments should establish policies and regulations before proposals begin to arrive.
“It’s just the process of wanting to have some sort of regulation in place,” he said. “Because whether you’re for a data center or against a data center, if you don’t even talk about them in your ordinance, then it’s going to lead to confusion.”
Boike recommended that communities evaluate land-use plans, infrastructure capacity, workforce availability, and transportation networks, while also considering standards for setbacks, buffering, noise, and backup generators.
Ultimately, Boike said the goal should be proactive planning rather than reacting once a developer inevitably appears before the commission.
“Putnam County is the entity that’s really in control,” he said. “You want to cast a vision for what you want your community to be rather than simply responding to questions, to requests that come to you.”