Dear Editor:

Georgia Power is proposing to produce an added 10,000 megawatts of electricity, the largest surge in electricity demand in state history, dominated by Georgia’s aggressive pursuit of datacenter development. Datacenters are predicted to consume more than three-quarters of proposed power-generation expansion, primarily for artificial intelligence – technology with profound risks to society that remain dangerously unregulated in the U.S.

Georgia’s Public Service Commission’s five members determine how much energy the state needs, when it will be implemented, what rates will be charged, and how power will be generated. They are poised to approve Georgia Power’s proposal to burn fossil fuels – natural gas – generating at least 60% of the added power, defying calls for using less costly and grid-dependent ‘distributed’ clean energy.

Datacenters are becoming increasingly controversial due to a range of factors, including power costs and water supplies.

Persistently, PSC energy choices have imposed unjustified stresses on Georgia’s water resources while threatening the needs and costs of other water users and energy consumers. Compounding this negligence, the PSC approved the combustion of wood products to generate electricity, further imperiling air quality, public health, and climate change. Few decisions could be more ironically negligent than burning wood to power 21st century digital technology.

Rapid, unregulated advancement of AI will accelerate demand for energy-hungry data centers, with harsh consequences for Georgia’s energy costs, environment, and quality of life.

Improving public awareness about economic development and energy-generation will help voters make better-informed decisions when electing members of the PSC in November.

David Kyler, St. Simons’ Island, Georgia

To submit a letter to the editor, email editor@bryancountynews. com. 

Letter submissions should include name, hometown and phone number; letters are published with full names and hometowns and never appear anonymously. Letters may be edited for content and length. Letters may be rejected if not the work of the author listed or originating from other sources or third-party sites; or those involving personal, business or legal disputes. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Bryan County News.