Data Center Lobbyists Clear The Way For Mega-Projects In Rural Georgia
County commissioners in Georgia may pave the way for a $17 billion “hyperscale” data center on Tuesday by adopting new planning laws shaped by industry lobbyists.
If passed, the latest draft of the laws will ease requirements for “Project Sail” — a proposed data center in a rural area of Coweta County, 40 miles southwest of Atlanta — relative to a more stringent version proposed last month.
One of the biggest planned complexes of its kind, Project Sail is a joint venture between San Francisco-based Prologis (NYSE:PLD), the world’s largest industrial real estate company, and Georgia-based developer Atlas Development.
A DeSmog review of public records suggests that industry lobbyists and company representatives prevailed upon Coweta County officials to dilute earlier versions of the proposed planning rules for data centers.