Experts To Talk Data Centers At Douglas Co. Town Hall

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Data centers will be the focus of a town hall this week in Douglas County.

District 1 Commissioner Henry Mitchell III hopes to promote truth about potentially local data centers with his event, "Data Centers and Douglas County: Separating Fact from Fiction."

The purpose of the town hall is not only to allow residents to hear from experts on how data centers could possibly impact Douglas County. It will also be held to offer factual details about data centers, Mitchell's office said Monday.

“We want our residents to have access to accurate information and expert perspectives on an issue that is generating significant discussion throughout our region. This town hall is about education, transparency and meaningful community engagement.”

District 1 Commissioner Henry Mitchell III

The town hall will be sponsored at 6 p.m. Wednesday on the first floor of Citizen’s Hall, located at 8700 Hospital Drive in Douglasville.

"Residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions and be part of the conversation about the future of Douglas County," Mitchell's office said.

Data centers have become a political flashpoint in this year's elections. Voters across the political spectrum have criticized them for jacking up electricity bills, draining water supplies and creating unhealthy amounts of air and noise pollution.

President Donald Trump appeared to support the data centers in an Aug. 21 report by The Associated Press. The article was centered on a plea from “Make America Healthy Again” activists, who pressed Trump to not use coal to power artificial intelligence data centers.

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump recently said. “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”

Georgia is currently home to 136 operational data centers, according to the U.S. Data Center Map. Sixteen are under construction, and 82 are planned.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.