Amazon AWS announced that it will invest at least $11 billion to expand its infrastructure in Georgia to support the development of cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology, which is expected to create about 550 jobs. The move comes on the heels of a similarly sized investment in Indiana and shows AWS' focus on continued growth in the southern U.S. region. Georgia's low electricity costs, developed fiber optic network and state government's tax incentives have attracted many technology giants, including Google, Meta and Microsoft, to invest in data centers here, promoting the rapid economic development of the region. However, the rapid expansion of data center construction has also raised concerns among local residents about competition for land resources and energy consumption.
Recently, Amazon's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced plans to invest "at least" $11 billion in Georgia to expand its infrastructure to support the development of various cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies. The investment is expected to create approximately 550 jobs in the state. AWS said in a press release: "We are proud to expand our operations in Georgia, which will power the development of next-generation cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence. We are grateful for the support of state and local leaders and look forward to working with Georgia embraces the digital future together.”
AWS' investment comes shortly after it announced plans eight months ago to invest $11 billion in data centers in Indiana. The investment is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs. Georgia is becoming a popular region for data centers. According to a report, by mid-2024, the annual growth rate of data center construction in the Atlanta market alone has reached 76%.
Atlanta's lower electricity costs, existing fiber optic infrastructure and state tax incentives have attracted the attention of many large technology companies. Tech giants such as Google, Meta, Elon Musk's X Company and Microsoft are also investing heavily in infrastructure in the region. In 2023, Microsoft also purchased hundreds of acres of land with plans to build a data center expected to cost $1.8 billion.
However, in the face of the wave of data center construction, the response of local residents has not been satisfactory. They see data center expansion competing with residential and other pressing real estate needs. Last September, the Atlanta City Council also banned new data centers from opening near public transportation and popular trails such as the Belt Line.
At the same time, the demand for power in data centers is also quite high. Georgia Power relies in part on fossil fuels to meet the power needs of existing and future data centers, a practice that has also been criticized by environmental advocates. According to forecasts by real estate data company Green Street, the data center load in the Atlanta area will exceed 4,000 megawatts by 2028, an increase of more than 30 times from 2012.
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are driving today’s data center expansion projects. Developing and running artificial intelligence requires massive amounts of computing power. Goldman Sachs predicts that AI will account for about 19% of data center power demand by 2028. AI companies are also showing strong appetite for investment. Microsoft recently said it expects to invest $80 billion in AI data centers this year. According to a McKinsey report, capital expenditures for the purchase and installation of mechanical and electrical systems for data centers are likely to exceed $250 billion over the next five years.
All in all, AWS’s massive investment in Georgia reflects the booming market for AI-driven cloud computing, but also highlights the challenge of balancing economic development with social and environmental sustainability. In the future, how to coordinate data center construction and the needs of local communities will become an important issue.