Georgia

1) Incentive programs

State sales/use tax exemption for high-technology data centers

• Program: Georgia provides a sales and use tax exemption for qualifying high-technology data center equipment under O.C.G.A. Section 48-8-3(68.1). The exemption remains in force and is statutorily limited to the period ending Dec. 31, 2031. Georgia Code, accessed 2026-06-10; Georgia Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Investment thresholds and job creation: The statute and DOR rule require county-tiered minimum investment thresholds and new quality jobs. DOR’s county threshold table for projects on or after May 9, 2022 lists $25 million, $75 million, and $250 million thresholds depending on county population. Georgia Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-06-10; Georgia Rule 560-12-2-.117, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Investment period and sunset in rule: Rule 560-12-2-.117 sets a seven-year investment period and provides for exemption certificates through Dec. 31, 2031, subject to meeting investment and job requirements. Georgia Rule 560-12-2-.117, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Clean-energy conditions: Georgia’s data-center exemption statute and rule do not include an explicit clean-energy procurement or renewable-energy condition. Georgia Code, accessed 2026-06-10; Georgia Rule 560-12-2-.117, accessed 2026-06-10.

2026 incentive status

• The 2026 regular session did not repeal, sunset, freeze, or materially modify the state high-technology data center sales/use tax exemption. Bills that would have ended, sunset, or paused the exemption died, including SB 408, SB 410, SB 436, and HB 559; the Department of Revenue was still accepting exemption applications as of July 17. Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-07-17.
• SB 410, the most advanced repeal bill, passed the Senate by substitute on March 6, 2026 and then stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee; SB 408 and HB 559 did not advance beyond initial committee referral. Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia Conservancy, 2026 legislative update, accessed 2026-06-10.

Interaction with other state credits

• Rule 560-12-2-.117 ties “New Quality Jobs” to the statewide job-credit definitions under O.C.G.A. Section 48-7-40.17, so data-center job requirements align with broader state job-credit criteria. Georgia Rule 560-12-2-.117, accessed 2026-06-10.
• SB 476, a broader 2026 income-tax-reduction bill, was discussed by policy trackers as a vehicle that would eliminate tax credits broadly, including data-center-related incentives, but it did not become law. MultiState, 2026-02-20; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.

Local property-tax abatements (discretionary and negotiated)

• Georgia does not have a uniform statewide property-tax exemption specific to data centers. Property-tax incentives are local and negotiated, often through development authorities, bond-lease structures, or PILOT arrangements. O.C.G.A. Section 36-62-3, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Local revenue assumptions remain politically contested: for Project Sail in Coweta County, AJC reported that an earlier estimate of more than $1 billion in annual local taxes was erroneous and that Prologis’ later projection was about $100 million annually at full buildout. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2026-04-08.

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

Local moratoriums / zoning freezes

• DeKalb County: After extending the unincorporated-county moratorium to Sept. 30 on June 9, commissioners unanimously rejected the pending regulatory text amendment on June 23. On July 7 they extended the moratorium again, through March 30, 2027, while county departments study water, power, public-health, heat-island, and other effects. Atlanta News First, 2026-06-26; DeKalb County Resolution 2026-1109, adopted 2026-07-07; Appen Media via Muck Rack, 2026-07-08.
• Fayetteville: The City of Fayetteville now prohibits new data centers in every city zoning district under Ordinance 26-0-12, adopted March 5, 2026; a separate proposed data-center project denied by the Planning and Zoning Commission in January had its appeal withdrawn on March 18, 2026. City of Fayetteville Data Center Discussion, accessed 2026-06-10; City of Fayetteville UDO page, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Roswell: Roswell’s Jan. 12 emergency moratorium did not expire in April as originally scheduled. The council extended it on March 23 to June 26 and again on June 22 for 90 days, through Sept. 20, 2026, while reviewing data-center-specific land-use, environmental, and utility standards. City of Roswell meeting recap, 2026-06-22.
• Coweta County: Coweta’s 2025 moratorium ended before 2026, and Project Sail was reviewed under the county’s new data-center ordinance; on April 7 the Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to rezone 829 acres from Rural Conservation to Industrial for the project. On June 16 the board imposed a new 180-day pause, expiring Dec. 23, on new data-center applications while it revisits that ordinance; five proposals already in the pipeline were treated as vested and exempt from the pause. Coweta County Board of Commissioners agenda, 2026-04-07; Data Centers Daily, 2026-06-18.
• February-April county actions: Bulloch County adopted a 90-day pause Feb. 17 and extended it May 5 through Dec. 31; Cobb County adopted a 180-day pause Feb. 24 (through approximately Aug. 23); Newton County extended its emergency pause through Oct. 7; and Decatur County adopted an indefinite pause April 14. Bulloch County/WJCL, 2026-02-17; Statesboro Herald, 2026-05-06; FOX 5 Atlanta, 2026-02-25; Newton County Resolution R-040726b, 2026-04-07; WCTV, 2026-04-15.
• Coastal actions: Camden County adopted a six-month moratorium for unincorporated areas on May 5 after a proposed rezoning was withdrawn. Kingsland, within Camden County, had adopted Ordinance 2026-03 on March 9 but repealed it May 11 and replaced it with a 365-day application moratorium. Garden City adopted a six-month moratorium June 15. Georgia Public Broadcasting, 2026-05-06; City of Kingsland, 2026-05-13; The Current, 2026-06-16.
• June-July pauses: Augusta adopted a 49-day pause June 2, expiring July 21, that did not affect the already approved QTS campus; Floyd County approved an 80-day moratorium June 9; Milton approved an initial 30-day moratorium June 15 and a short-term extension July 6 pending a July 20 hearing on a longer pause; Walker County approved a 30-day pause at its July meeting; Gordon County extended its moratorium July 7 through Jan. 29, 2027; and Marietta stopped accepting new applications through Dec. 31 while exempting pending and previously approved cases. Georgia Public Broadcasting, 2026-06-03; WLAQ, 2026-06-10; City of Milton, 2026-06-16; City of Milton, 2026-07-07; Walker County, 2026-07-10; Gordon County, 2026-07-08; WSB Radio, 2026-07-09.

Zoning restrictions and conditional use requirements

• Atlanta: Atlanta’s 2024 ordinances remain the key citywide restrictions: one defines data centers and bars them within 2,640 feet of a high-capacity transit stop, while another prohibits data centers in the BeltLine Overlay District. Atlanta City Council, 2024-09-03; GPB News, 2024-09-04.
• Atlanta Adair Park/West End exemption proposal: In 2026, councilmembers sponsored legislation to exempt 713 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. from the transit-area data-center ban for a proposed Digital Realty project; NPU-V voted 105-87 against the exemption on April 13 and the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board voted 21-0 to oppose it. On July 13 the City Council’s Zoning Committee held the measure rather than advancing or rejecting it, so the exemption remained pending as of July 17. Civic Atlanta, 2026-04-19; Axios Atlanta, 2026-07-14.
• Athens-Clarke County: After extending its moratorium in March, the unified government adopted an ordinance April 7 regulating data centers as an industrial use subject to special-use review, replacing the temporary ban while referring additional energy, water, and transparency criteria back to planning staff. Athens-Clarke County Code, ordinance adopted 2026-04-07; WUGA, 2026-04-09.

Environmental constraints (statewide and local)

• Water withdrawal permitting: Georgia EPD rules require a permit for groundwater withdrawals exceeding 100,000 gallons per day, making water-source selection and permitting material for large water-using campuses. Georgia Rule 391-3-2, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Local performance standards: Georgia Tech’s rolling ordinance hub, based on a review of codes for more than 180 Georgia cities and counties, shows local rules increasingly addressing siting and design, utility capacity, water and stormwater, noise and vibration, buffers, environmental review, safety, and decommissioning. Georgia Tech Energy Policy and Innovation Center, accessed 2026-07-17.

3) Local governance and preemption

• No 2026 state preemption enacted: Georgia did not enact a statewide data-center siting statute, moratorium, incentive repeal, disclosure mandate, or utility cost-allocation statute in the 2026 regular session; local governments remain the main venue for siting controls. Georgia Watch/Inside Climate News, 2026-04-09; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• Community opposition patterns: 2026 local controversies centered on water use, stormwater, noise, rural land conversion, utility bills, tax-abatement skepticism, and confidence in economic-impact estimates, with major organizing in Coweta, Fayetteville, DeKalb, and southwest Atlanta. FOX 5 Atlanta, 2026-04-08; The Citizen, 2026-05-11; City of Fayetteville Data Center Discussion, accessed 2026-06-10; Capital B Atlanta, 2026-05-01.

4) Legislative activity (2024-2026)

2024 actions

• HB 1192 (2024): Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a two-year freeze on new data-center sales/use tax exemption certificates, leaving the state incentive in place. Data Center Dynamics, 2024-05-10; Associated Press, 2024-05-08.

2026 regular session outcomes

• Bottom line: No data-center-specific bill passed both chambers in the 2026 regular session. Consumer advocates and climate reporters summarized the outcome as a complete failure of the package of data-center bills. Georgia Watch/Inside Climate News, 2026-04-09.
• SB 34 - ratepayer protection: SB 34 would have barred certain utility costs for serving commercial data centers from being included in general rates unless recovered from those data centers or allocated by demand; it was recommitted in the Senate and did not become law. LegiScan summary with Georgia source links, 2026 session; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• SB 408 / SB 410 - sales/use tax exemption repeal: SB 408 would have ended the exemption beginning Jan. 1, 2027, while SB 410 would have eliminated the data-center equipment exemption sooner; SB 410 passed the Senate on March 6, 2026 but died in the House, and SB 408 did not advance. Alston & Bird, 2026-02-24; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• SB 421 - Data Center Transparency Act: SB 421 would have prohibited local governments, authorities, and political subdivisions from entering nondisclosure agreements over an entity’s electricity or water usage; it was referred to Senate State and Local Governmental Operations on Jan. 27, 2026 and did not advance. Georgia Senate Press Office, 2026-01-23; LegiScan summary with Georgia source links, 2026 session; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 528 - community impact disclosures: HB 528 proposed community-impact disclosures, including data-center water, electricity, and community-impact reporting, but died in House Ways and Means. Capitol Beat, 2026-01-27; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 559 - exemption sunset: HB 559 would have revised the date for the high-technology data center equipment exemption, reported as a Dec. 31, 2026 sunset proposal; it died in House Ways and Means. Capitol Beat, 2026-01-27; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• SB 436 - one-year certificate pause and NDA limits: SB 436 would have suspended new data-center exemption certificates from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 and barred local-government nondisclosure agreements concerning project electricity or water use. It remained in Senate Finance and died. Georgia Senate Press Office, 2026-02-09; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 1012 / HB 1059 - statewide moratoriums: HB 1012 would have barred local governments from issuing permits, licenses, or certificates authorizing new data-center construction for a specified period, while HB 1059 would have enacted the Data Center Impact Assessment and Development Moratorium Act of 2026 and created a study commission. Both died in House committees. HB 1012, Georgia General Assembly bill page, 2026 session; HB 1059 bill text, Georgia General Assembly, 2026 session; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 1063 - utility cost protection: HB 1063 would have required electric utilities to protect residential and retail customers from costs associated with data-center construction and operation; it passed the House on Feb. 17, 2026, was referred to Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities on Feb. 18, and died there. LegiScan summary with Georgia source links, 2026 session; Capitol Beat/WABE, 2026-02-18; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 1323 - hybrid power data centers: HB 1323 would have required new data centers to operate as hybrid power data centers and obtain PSC certification; it was introduced in February 2026 and died after second reading in the House. LegiScan summary with Georgia source links, 2026 session; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• HB 1387 - homestead exemption funded by data-center property taxes: HB 1387 would have created a statewide homestead exemption tied to proceeds from certain data-center ad valorem taxes; it was referred to House Ways and Means and died. LegiScan summary with Georgia source links, 2026 session; Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• Other utility-governance bills: HB 1027 would have authorized Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia member cities to execute power-sale contracts of up to 20 years, a tool relevant to large-load customers, but it died after passing the House. SB 94 would have restored a state Consumer Utility Counsel but also failed. Georgia Municipal Association bill tracker, updated 2026-04-03; Science for Georgia 2026 legislative summary, 2026-05.

Utility/PSC activity affecting data centers

• The Georgia PSC’s December 2025 data-center fact sheet states that Georgia Power’s seven-year capacity need rose from 400 MW in 2022 to 6,600 MW in 2023 and 8,500 MW two years later; it also summarizes PSC rules requiring large-load customer protections, quarterly reporting, minimum billing/longer contract terms, and advance PSC review of new data-center contracts. Georgia Public Service Commission Data Center Fact Sheet, 2025-12-01.
• The PSC fact sheet also states that the Dec. 19, 2025 agreement certified 9,885 MW of new generation, with approximately 80% expected to serve data centers, and that the order includes protections for existing ratepayers if projected data-center load does not materialize. Georgia Public Service Commission Data Center Fact Sheet, 2025-12-01.
• On Feb. 18 the PSC voted 3-2 against reconsidering or decertifying that expansion. Environmental and faith groups then filed a petition for judicial review in Fulton County Superior Court on March 25, alleging that the Commission approved the resources without the need determination required by state law; those are litigants’ allegations, not a merits ruling. FOX 5 Atlanta, 2026-02-23; SELC petition for review, filed 2026-03-25.
• In July the PSC opened Docket 57171 to examine Georgia Power’s Real Time Pricing methodology and whether data centers and other large customers are paying their fuel and pipeline costs. Staff’s July 9 questions were due to be answered under oath by Aug. 10, with the review targeted for completion by Dec. 31; staff had estimated the disputed allocation could add 5%-11% per month to average residential fuel costs by 2028. Georgia PSC Docket 57171, opened 2026-07-07; Georgia Recorder, 2026-07-07; Atlanta News First, 2026-07-10.

5) Notable projects and operators

• Project Sail / Prologis-Atlas (Coweta County): Coweta County approved rezoning on April 7, 2026 for Project Sail, a proposed roughly $17 billion, 829-acre, nine-building campus near Welcome to Sargent Road and Wagers Mill Road; AJC and other reporting describe an expected 900 MW load and about 4.3 million square feet of data-center space. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2026-04-08; FOX 5 Atlanta, 2026-04-08.
• Project Sail litigation: On May 5, 2026, Coweta residents filed suit in Coweta County Superior Court seeking to overturn the rezoning, alleging procedural, environmental, and land-use defects; the allegations had not been adjudicated as of the May 11 local report. The Citizen, 2026-05-11; WSB-TV, 2026-05-12.
• QTS Fayetteville: QTS operates/develops a major Fayetteville campus and states that the campus uses closed-loop cooling that should not use water for cooling once operational; the project became a focal point in 2026 after Fayette County disclosed billing and construction-water issues and Fayetteville banned new data centers. QTS Fayetteville, accessed 2026-06-10; Fayette County, 2026-05-13; City of Fayetteville Data Center Discussion, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Google LaGrange: Google confirmed in April 2026 that it intends to develop a data center in LaGrange, Troup County. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-04-21.
• Microsoft Tyrone: Microsoft confirmed plans for a data center in Tyrone, Georgia in late April 2026 and planned a community information session. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-04-28.
• Columbus / Habitat Partners: A $5 billion data-center campus around Columbus was reported in March 2026, with a potential 600 MW buildout. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-03-03.
• QTS Blakely and Augusta filings: QTS was reported in March 2026 as targeting two additional Georgia campuses, one in Blakely and another in Augusta. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-03-13.
• Irwin County: A Development of Regional Impact application was reported in April 2026 for a proposed 1,000-acre, 1.2 GW data-center campus in Irwin County. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-04-14.
• Edged Atlanta: Edged topped out a 42 MW data center in Atlanta in April 2026. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-04-21.
• DataBank Project Indo (Cartersville/Bartow County): DataBank filed a DRI in June for a 69-acre, 1.1-million-square-foot campus with 200 MW of IT load, a requested 288 MW grid connection, and an estimated $2.4 billion full buildout; the first phase is projected for 2032. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-06-22.
• CleanSpark Sandersville: CleanSpark announced July 14 that it executed a 20-year triple-net infrastructure lease with an unnamed investment-grade technology company for 175 MW of critical IT load, with deliveries expected to begin in Q4 2027 and $6.6 billion of contracted initial-term revenue. CleanSpark, 2026-07-14.
• Duos Columbus: Duos Edge AI signed a five-year, 10 MW colocation agreement valued at more than $111 million, bringing its planned Columbus campus to 20 MW by Q4 2026; its first 10 MW is expected to begin billing in August. Duos Technologies, 2026-07-16.
• Project denials and revocations: Douglas County commissioners voted 4-1 on July 7 to deny East Village Dothan LLC’s rezoning request for a five-building, roughly 4.4-million-square-foot campus on about 700 acres near Villa Rica. Forsyth County commissioners also revoked a north-county data-center conditional-use permit originally approved in 2024. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-07-09; Forsyth County News, 2026-07-10.
• Marietta pending case: The City Council tabled Z2026-12, a proposed conversion at 1155 Powers Ferry Place with approximately 12 MW initial and up to 18 MW potential demand, until August; because the application was already pending, the new city moratorium does not decide that case. Atlanta News First, 2026-07-09.
• Serverfarm/VoltaGrid Covington compliance action: Georgia EPD issued July 2 notices after finding that Serverfarm and VoltaGrid had begun installing diesel and gas generators before receiving required air permits. EPD ordered construction stopped while it evaluates the companies’ responses; the notices are enforcement allegations, not final penalty orders. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2026-07-08; Atlanta News First, 2026-07-10.
• Market pipeline: Cleanview’s June 2026 project tracker counted 17 operating Georgia data centers with 1,021 MW of capacity and 83 planned projects with 9,231 MW of additional planned capacity; treat this as a third-party market tracker rather than a permitting database. Cleanview, 2026-06.

Primary/authoritative sources used

• Georgia Code data-center exemption: O.C.G.A. Section 48-8-3(68.1), accessed 2026-06-10.
• Georgia DOR data-center exemption thresholds: Georgia Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Georgia data-center exemption rule: Georgia Rule 560-12-2-.117, accessed 2026-06-10.
• Development Authorities Law tax exemption: O.C.G.A. Section 36-62-3, accessed 2026-06-10.
• 2026 legislative final status: Georgia House Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14; Georgia Senate Final Composite Status, 2026-05-14.
• Georgia PSC data-center fact sheet: Georgia Public Service Commission, 2026-03.
• Fayetteville data-center prohibition and discussion page: City of Fayetteville, accessed 2026-06-10.
• DeKalb moratorium extension: DeKalb County Resolution 2026-1109, adopted 2026-07-07.