CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Camden County residents gathered at the College of Coastal Georgia in Kingsland on Thursday for a public meeting to discuss community concerns surrounding potential data center construction.
The meeting marks the first of three public sessions organized by the Southeast Georgia Innovation Campus and Georgia Tech’s Digital First Communities program.
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The discussions come as county officials prepare for the eventual expiration of a six-month moratorium on data centers implemented in May.
The planned Southeast Georgia Innovation Campus features space for expanding and emerging businesses anchored by a potential data center facility.
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The Camden County Board of County Commissioners held a data center ordinance workshop this week to draft a new regulation governing future developments once the moratorium expires.
Betsy McGriff, project manager at the Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development, oversees the Digital First Communities program.
“Georgia is sort of ground zero for data center development. Some communities are not quite ready for that. And that’s the case in Camden County,” McGriff said.
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She noted that the program aims to address technical questions regarding resource consumption and infrastructure.
“It’s a community-led, community education program to really talk about, cut through some of the noise and talk about really what is a data center? How much water does it use? What does it mean to have a closed loop data center,” McGriff said.
Despite the educational initiative, some local community members remain opposed to bringing data centers to the area.
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Camden County resident Frank Watts voiced strong opposition to building facilities near residential property.
“I certainly don’t want a data center in my backyard. This is community property and we wouldn’t want something like that,” Watts said.
The next public meeting in the three-part educational series is scheduled for October 15.
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