Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted Friday to implement a six-month moratorium on large-scale data centers in unincorporated parts of the county. The move makes it the third Coastal Georgia county to enact such a ban, and follows other moratoriums passed by several towns in Chatham, including Savannah, Garden City and Bloomingdale.
The development also comes amid broad public anger and backlash to the planned $20 billion OpenAI data center deal in Effingham County, which was negotiated in secret and could make the tech company known for creating ChatGPT the largest taxpayer in the county, as well as the largest electricity customer in Coastal Georgia.
According to the ordinance, Chatham’s 155-day ban prohibits development of centers 10 megawatts or larger, and the conversion of warehouses and industrial spaces for data center use. During the period, the county will undertake a study to determine the conditions needed to facilitate data center development while prioritizing public health and safety, according to the resolution voted on Friday…