The Ledger

A data center is a large facility that houses powerful computers and servers that store, process, and manage digital information. These centers keep websites, emails, financial systems, government records, and cloud services running by handling massive amounts of data every second. In simple terms, data centers are the physical backbone of the internet and modern technology, allowing people and businesses to access information, communicate and operate online reliably and securely.

Coleman, who has been involved in economic development efforts since the early 1970s and previously served as chairman of the Dodge-Bleckley Joint Development Authority, said the increasing reliance on technology in everyday life makes data centers a key part of modern infrastructure.

“Today we cannot efficiently function without computers and the devices that power business, government and our personal lives,” Coleman said. “Data centers support these devices. Without them, the systems we rely on to communicate, store information and compute simply would not continue to function.”

Because of that dependence on technology, Coleman believes data centers have become one of the modern equivalents of the manufacturing plants that once drove local economies.

“Much like the factories of the last century, data centers are now one of the major providers of economic development in this country,” he said. “If everyone in the country and the world is dependent on data centers, we should benefit from hosting one or more in our area.”

According to Coleman, data centers could provide construction jobs during development and permanent positions once operational. He said they also generate property tax revenue that can help support local governments.

Coleman said he has discussed the idea with local leaders, including officials in both counties.

“Commissioner Davis in Bleckley County and most of the commissioners in Dodge County were supportive,” he said.

He believes the Joint Development Authority of Dodge and Bleckley counties, along with each county’s individual development authority, should continue recruiting data center projects.

Coleman noted that the region already has infrastructure that could support the industry.

“Thankfully we have the electric transmission lines needed for this type of development traversing our counties,” he said.

He also said earlier planning efforts included the idea of pairing data centers with greenhouse operations to create a balanced approach to economic growth.

“Our plan was to develop the greenhouse industry and co-locate them with data centers, which would have created a balanced plan for gradual and reasonable growth,” Coleman said. “That could offer jobs at every level of employment where our children and grandchildren would be interested in working.”

Coleman also addressed concerns sometimes raised by residents about the environmental impact of data centers.

He said modern facilities typically use closed-loop cooling systems that require little water and are designed to operate quietly.

“The public should know that data centers today use little water because they use a ‘closed loop’ cooling system,” Coleman said. “The noise is negligible because the new computers produce little noise and the buildings are designed to buffer sound.”

Coleman said economic growth is important for rural communities that are losing population.

“We have to provide jobs for the students in our school systems or we will continue to lose them to areas where growth is occurring,” he said.

He added that many rural counties in Georgia are now experiencing more deaths than births.

“As the old saying in economic development goes, ‘If you aren’t growing, you’re dying.’”

A follow up story to this one with questions answered by local community leaders and governing officials from both Bleckley and Dodge counties will be published in next week’s launch issue of The Ledger.