State pausing review of data center plans

An Atlanta-based environmental advocate is criticizing the Georgia Department of Group Affairs DCA decision to pause state reviews of new records center proposals While the decision will not stop local governments from approving records center projects it will rob local water planners of the state s valuable input Chris Manganiello water initiative director for the nonprofit group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper reported Thursday Rather than the state helping regions think through this stuff it s going to leave planners flying blind he announced We ll end up with a patchwork of moratoria and ordinances at the local level addressing evidence center advance Manganiello s comments came during the kickoff meeting of a Georgia House subcommittee examining the prospective impacts of the growing number of evidence centers springing up across the state on water use A second subcommittee is looking at how input centers are likely to affect consumption of electricity Facts centers have exploded so expeditiously that elected leaders in DeKalb Coweta Douglas and Bartow counties have imposed moratoria on new projects The Atlanta City Council voted last month to prohibit input centers from setting up in specific neighborhoods and require developers to seek a special-use permit for construction Danny Johnson director of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District informed water subcommittee members more than material centers are operating at this moment in Georgia while more than more have been proposed Information centers use huge quantities of water with a typical material center consuming the same amount of water per day as the cities of Marietta or Valdosta he stated However statistics center developers have proven willing to install water-saving strategies including closed-loop cooling to reduce their water consumption even though such apparatus is expensive We encourage smart sustainable progress that ensures critical infrastructure like input centers can thrive without compromising our water support Jackson stated The figures center industry remains committed to responsible water use in Georgia communities added Dan Diorio vice president of state strategy for the Northern Virginia-based Evidence Center Coalition Evidence centers prioritize efficient water practices and responsible management to minimize their water footprint Manganiello suggested that the General Assembly put limits on tax incentives the state offers to attract high-resource use facilities to Georgia requiring that they disclose how much electricity and water they plan to use A bipartisan bill to that effect sponsored by state Rep Debbie Buckner D-Junction City failed to gain traction during this year s legislative session Manganiello also recommended that the state use tax credits to incentivize information centers to employ water-saving device and establish a self-sustaining infrastructure fund to help encouragement records centers The water subcommittee will hold two more meetings in South Georgia one in Moultrie next month and the other in Claxton in September before issuing findings and recommendations The post State pausing review of statistics center plans appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta