Proposed data center has faced strong opposition
A land rezoning proposal for a 1.2GW data center campus outside Macon, Georgia, has been denied.
The campus would have been located within Monroe County, which is northwest of Macon.
On August 5, the Monroe County Commission voted unanimously to reject a proposal to rezone 970 acres of residential land for commercial use. The land parcel is located on largely undeveloped land along US Highway 41 (aka Dixie Highway), Wadley Road, and I-475.
The proposal was also denied recommendation for approval last week by the Monroe County Planning and Zoning Board.
The applicant, Bolingbroke Technology Center, intends to build a campus worth $5.8bn dubbed the ‘Bolingbroke Technology Campus.’ It would be built in three phases, each completed in 2029, 2031, and 2033, and consisting of nine buildings spanning a total of 5.4 million sq ft (501,675 sqm) as well as multiple substations from local utility Central Georgia EMC.
According to the site plan on the data center’s website, six of the data centers will offer 100MW and three will offer 200MW.
Local opposition to the proposed campus has been intense, with concerns expressed about potential environmental impacts and the general effect on the nature of the area.
A statement from the applicant reads: “We are disappointed by the Board’s decision tonight. This project is a thoughtful, community-driven proposal designed to bring meaningful long-term benefits to Monroe County. We will be evaluating our next steps."
Little is known about Bolingbroke Technology Center.
Most of Georgia’s data centers are clustered around the state capital, Atlanta.
