As the U.S. economy is increasingly driven by advanced manufacturing, cloud computing and AI, the state has become a magnet for data centers.
But this development comes with vast energy demands, which have caused tension. The state’s main utility, Georgia Power, has increased its demand projections sixteen-fold and is pushing ahead on a hotly contested plan to burn more natural gas.
Similar quandaries are rippling through other hubs of the new American economy, with utilities in Tennessee and the Carolinas forecasting their own unexpected surges in load growth.
U.S. power usage is projected to expand by 4.7% annually over the next five years, according to a review of federal fillings by the consulting firm Grid Strategies. That is up from a previous estimate of 2.6%.
The projections come after efficiency gains kept electricity demand roughly flat over the past 15 years, allowing the power sector to limit emissions in large part through coal-plant closures.
“We haven’t seen this in a generation,” said Arne Olson, a senior partner at consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics. “As an industry, we’ve almost forgotten how to deal with load growth of this magnitude.”
For states like Georgia, the fear is missing out on what could be once-in-a-generation investments. Wall Street is salivating over an artificial-intelligence-fueled tech bonanza, while Washington is throwing billions of dollars into domestic manufacturing.
The added wrinkle is that it is all happening as many parts of America—corporate America included—are trying to wean themselves off fossil fuels.
“These companies all have clean-energy goals,” said Patty Durand, a Georgia Power critic who is campaigning to be a utility regulator in the state. “Those goals are at risk if Georgia Power gets what it wants.”
The Peach State’s energy quandary stems from the type of economic dynamism that many counterparts would envy. Its growth has consistently outpaced the nation’s.
A smaller portion of Georgians are jobless than the U.S. average, while their incomes tend to be rising faster.
State and local economic-development teams have courted large businesses to set up shop with sales pitches that have included generous financial incentives. Rail lines, ports and America’s largest air hub also provide access to faraway customers.
Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said energy is increasingly part of those discussions with newcomers.
Officials tout the newly expanded Plant Vogtle, America’s largest nuclear power plant, as a sign the state is ready for long-term growth.
“We have a utility partner to make sure you can meet your energy needs on day one,” Wilson said.
Those needs include affordability, reliability and sustainability for firms like Aurubis, a German metals giant building a recycling plant in the outskirts of Augusta.
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