Georgia Families Furious at Plan to Seize and Destroy Their Homes for AI Data Centers
by Frank Bergman
Georgia families are facing the prospect of being forced from their homes as a state-backed utility moves to clear land for a massive transmission project designed primarily to feed power-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
Georgia Power is seeking to demolish roughly 30 homes and take control of 330 parcels of land that stand in the path of a planned 1,000-mile transmission line, according to reporting from Fortune.
Once completed, the network is expected to distribute nearly 10,000 megawatts of electricity from a newly constructed power plant.
A fact sheet from the Georgia Public Service Commission states that “approximately 80 percent of which is expected to power data centers.”
The remaining electricity would be divided among homes, local businesses, and other customers.
Homeowners Warn They Have No Choice
Backed by the state, Georgia Power is attempting to buy out affected landowners.
Those who refuse could see their property seized through eminent domain.
Eminent domain laws allow for the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use.
The project has triggered outrage among residents in predominantly rural communities who now face losing family homes so the technology industry can expand its AI infrastructure.
Ansley Brown, whose childhood home lies in the project’s path, turned to social media to expose what is happening to her family.
“We don’t have a choice in this,” Brown said in an Instagram video.