FAQs

DeKalb County defines data centers as a physical room, building, or facility that houses infrastructure for building, running, delivering, or transmitting applications and services, or for storing and managing the data associated with those applications or services. 

All data centers require three things to properly function: 

• Power 
• Water
• Land 

*These three factors play a large role in the location, size, and load of a data center, ranging from small to medium to large. 

A data center that ranges anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 square feet and uses a load maximum of 5 MWh can be classified as small. A medium data center will be any unit that is 20,000 to 100,000 square feet and used 5 to 10 MWh load to operate. Large data centers will be anything between 100,000 to 500,000 square feet with a 10 MWh load and larger. Many large data centers can also be labeled as hyperscale, if they are larger than 500,000 square feet while also operating with a load greater than 100 MWh.

Note: Loads are the total power consumed by servers, storage, and other networking devices that operate within a data center site.

According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta has the most data center capacity under construction in the US at 1,289.1 Megawatts (MW), which contributes to four times as many data centers under construction in comparison to the total existing inventory. A megawatt is the unit of measurement for the amount of electrical energy used for one hour. For context, 1 MW is equivalent to one million watts of power, which is enough to power 650 homes. A small data center, which is about 20,000 sq ft uses the same amount of energy as 3,250 homes. On average, data centers exhaust 10 to 40 times more electricity per square foot than a typical office space. 

Where do data centers get their power from?

Every data center must go through a strict review standard and obtain a power purchase agreement with the legitimate utility provider before they are allowed to begin any operations. When it comes to operating larger centers that require a minimum of 10 MW, utility providers, such as Georgia Power, require a dedicated substation for the facilities. Through a dedicated substation and transmission line, a data center can receive power with little to no impact on normal rate payers. 

Generators are used to supply internal power conditioning system and are a significant component of the servers power consumption model. Generators typically run on gas or diesel fuel and are used as a back-up if the power from the transmission lines or substations goes out. The generators require occasional testing and may be a nuisance if left running. Many data centers are required to perform their generator testing during certain times of the year and at specific hours to ensure that the surrounding environment is not disturbed and there are no power outages caused by climatic disruptions. An ideal time for generator testing is from October to April, where temperatures are relatively cooler and air pollutants have a lesser impact on the environment.

Note: Georgia Power has anticipated a 12,000-megawatt load that will triple by mid-2030 that will require a significant expansion in the state’s energy capacity.

Data centers require a power conditioning system due to the overheating the often occurs with servers, also known as IT loads. For medium-sized to larger data centers can consume billions of gallons of water per year.  The water consumption of data centers is a very important issue as the number of sites, their size, and complexity continue to increase. Many data centers already have procedures in place to recycle non-potable water and have opted to use more efficient cooling systems to reduce usage.

In the data center ordinance proposed, DeKalb County will work with data center developers to ensure that they cool their hardware systems using a closed loop cooling system. 

Closed loop systems are often used in modern commercial buildings to help with both heating and cooling. Data centers can measure their consumption through a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) formula that holds them accountable for usage and wastage of water. By enforcing a closed loop system, data centers will be able to continually circulate water between the servers and chillers to dissipate heat without requiring a fresh water supply. This can help reduce up to 70% of water consumption for all developments.  

Decide DeKalb Development Authority, overseeing the expansion of the DeKalb County tax base, encourages data center construction that have smaller operations (about 500,000 sq ft) at a minimum initial cost of $600,000,000. Due to limited land infrastructure, smaller data centers, sometimes used to support larger hyper-scale facilities, can operate without severely impacting their surrounding environment and simultaneously increasing their economic value.   

In DeKalb County, any data center is eligible for a tax abatement as part of their property tax incentive initiative that is offered to new or expansion projects who reach the qualifying amount of new capital investment. Data centers also provide an opportunity to jumpstart a tax allocation district (TAD), used for the purpose of inviting investment through redevelopment in underdeveloped or blighted areas. Local governments can issue tax allocation bonds to finance infrastructure and other redevelopment costs within a TAD through the 1985 Georgia Redevelopment Powers Law. For a data center to create a TAD, local jurisdictions must adopt enabling legislation which approves redevelopment and established a base value for the district. DeKalb Schools and DeKalb County are consenting jurisdictions that have the option to participate in the TAD as local taxing entities.

In DeKalb County, there are currently 3 TADs:

1. Kensington (established 2004, expires 2029)
2. Avondale/Columbia Dr (established 2004, expires 2028)
3. Briarcliff/N. Druid Hills (established 2007, no termination date)

Click Here to Learn More About Decide DeKalb's Incentives

Data centers can have varying community impacts depending on the scale of development. Smaller facilities that are discretely located in downtown commercial areas or within office buildings will have less noticeable impact on the surrounding community, as they require significantly less power and water for maintenance. Larger facilities, especially sites that are over 500,000 square feet, can have a regional impact and require additional review. 

This additional review is led by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) through their Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) review. These procedures allow for communication between affected governments and are designed to assess the effect of large-scale projects for their individual communities. The Atlanta Regional Commission has led this review since 2014 and has helped in streamlining this process for the entire Metro Atlanta region.

Click here for more information on Developments of Regional Impact Reviews from the Atlanta Regional Commission

Yes, data centers already exist within the County. There are two data centers in incorporated areas, however, one is no longer in operation.

It is important to regulate data centers due to their increasing presence throughout the state of Georgia and developers’ interest to build in DeKalb County. In presenting this text amendment before Community Council, Planning Commission, and the Board of Commissioners, community members will have an opportunity to provide input and give feedback to ensure that this ordinance helps to protect and positively grow the County.

Data centers will be only permitted on parcels with industrial and light industrial land use. They will also be permitted on parcels zoned as office-institutional (OI), light industrial (M), and heavy industrial (M2) with a special land use permit for any development above 20,000 total square feet and operating with a load of 5 MWh or greater.

Data Center Power Resources:

Berkeley Lab (Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts Division)

2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report (Click for more information)

U.S. Department of Energy  

Data Centers and Servers (Click for more information)

Georgia Power

2023 Integrated Resource Plan Update (Click for more information)

Data Center Water Resources:

Atlanta Regional Commission (Natural Resources Department)

Data Center Trends in Metro Atlanta (Click for more information)

Environmental and Energy Study Institute 

Data Centers and Water Consumption (Click for more information)

Data Center Economic Development Resources:

Decide DeKalb Development Authority 

DeKalb Wants to Invest in You (Click for more information)

Tax Allocation Districts (TAD) (Click for more information)

DeKalb Chamber 

Tax Allocation Districts Frequently Asked Questions (Click for more information)