Data centers. You can hardly turn on the news without hearing about them and their sudden presence throughout the state. Whether its proposed developments four times larger than the Mall of Georgia, or newfound energy demands that have sent the Public Service Commission scrambling, data centers and the digital infrastructure they support are top of mind for state and local officials alike as they adjust to the modern data-driven economy.
Dan Diorio
James Magazine Online got a chance to sit down with Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition (DDC) to learn how they are impacting Georgia, and what you need to know about the hottest new industry of 2025.
Patrick Hickey: Let’s start from the very top. What are data centers and why are they important?
Dan Diorio: They are the backbone of the digital infrastructure that we use every day—and are an essential part of our everyday lives. They’re how we work, they’re how we learn, how we communicate. It’s the digital infrastructure behind every online purchase, every telehealth appointment, every online news article– even for this one. All of that requires the digital infrastructure that data centers provide, and as we continue to look forward and examine what’s driving the 21st century economy, digital infrastructure is even more essential.
They’re also important for our national security. We’re supposed to generate twice as much data in the next five years as we did in the previous 10, and we want it stored here at home. We don’t want it to go overseas, and that’s another place where digital infrastructure comes in regarding national security protection.
PH: Why Georgia?
DD: There are a lot of reasons why data centers cite where they are, and a combination of factors for why Georgia is a strong market for data center development. It’s land, it’s access to reliant, affordable energy, it’s workforce— both on the construction side and on the technology side. It’s also a good business and tax and regulatory climate; Georgia is consistently ranked as one of the top states in the country for business.
PH: How are data centers impacting the Georgia economy?
DD: DCC commissioned a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers to look at the benefits of data center development in all 50 states. Georgia obviously scored very high. There were 30,000 direct jobs from the data center industry in 2023, but if you look at indirect and induced effects, you have 176,790 jobs. Data centers create strong business ecosystems around themselves. For every one job at a data center six jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy. There are thousands of construction jobs as the projects are being built out, then the service sectors that support data centers. You have hv/ac, you have electrical contractors, fiber contractors who all service the facilities on a regular basis.
It’s also important to remember the significant state and local tax contributions that come from data centers. When we look at 2023, we have $1.06 billion to the Georgia state government, and $767 million in taxes to local governments. These are really changing and improving the quality of life in Georgia communities. And as data centers move further and further out from the close (Atlanta) metro area, we’re going to see more and more of the state receive these benefits and become attractive locations for development.
PH: There have been concerns about the energy demands that data centers put on our local infrastructure. While the PSC recently ruled that data centers will cover 100 percent of the costs for new energy infrastructure, how are you working with utilities and regulators to address this newfound demand?
DD: We’re coming out of almost two decades of relatively flat load growth. And now we’re seeing economic development very much tied to electricity, and it’s not just data centers. We’re seeing the onshoring, the reshoring of advanced manufacturing, of which you’ve seen several projects in Georgia already. You also have the electrification of vehicles, but also homes and businesses, and you have hydrogen energy production. These are new waves of demand drivers, and data centers and digital infrastructure are one part of that. In many ways we’re the first ship to the shore in that regard. All of this is driving decisions for the effective and efficient need to build out our energy infrastructure.
So, we’re trying to provide the right type of information that utilities and Georgia Public Service commissioners need to make those informed decisions. Data centers are fully committed to paying our full cost of service for electricity, and we’re being an engaged stakeholder in that process to help with really sound, data driven analysis and decision making so that Georgians are protected in that regard.
