The Hickman Property data center is a proposed complex on 700 acres in Douglas County, GA, just south of I-20. Upon completion, this center will dwarf most others in the state, and will be nearly 3 times the size of the Mall of GA, with 6.2 million square feet of data center buildings and 4 warehouses totaling 66,000 square feet. To put its size into perspective, approximately 30 Walmart Super Centers could fit into the space potentially occupied by this project. Our region is already burdened with existing data centers, with more on the way - in fact, there are over 30 such complexes (a total that includes both already-operating centers, large and small, and those still awaiting construction) within twenty miles of this location, and we believe that this current project is not only unnecessary but detrimental to our community and to our environment.

International opposition to data centers is rising, especially in areas susceptible to drought or with unstable or inadequate power grids. In the US, municipal officials and construction workers are bound by tech firms’ non disclosure agreements, which ensures that citizens are kept in the dark. By the time that residents become aware of the scope and deleterious effects of these ventures, it’s often too late to challenge them via public comment or legal avenues.

This industry uses tremendous amounts of energy, which is all derived from fossil fuels; data centers emit more carbon than air transportation. A data center of average size can draw enough electricity to power 50,000 residences, but this facility will need much more. Hickman’s servers are expected to require several hundred megawatts of electricity, more than the average total power consumption of 200,000 homes. By 2026, these facilities are expected to be responsible for 6% of total US power usage, contributing tremendously to climate change. Electric bills have been rising nationwide as these centers proliferate; in Oregon, for example, while residential power use has increased by 3.5% since 2016, industrial demand - which includes usage by data centers - has skyrocketed by 95%. In most cases, growing utility costs, which arise when power companies have to greatly upgrade and expand infrastructure to accommodate such excessive consumption, are passed onto residential consumers.

The largest data centers require millions of gallons of water daily to prevent overheating of equipment, enough to supply tens of thousands of residences. In 2021, data centers guzzled an astonishing 163.7 BILLION gallons of water. In times of drought, who can claim the right to clean, potable water? Will residential and agricultural water use be restricted so the Hickman center can continue to operate? 80% of the water used for cooling is lost to evaporation, and the remainder is so laden with chemicals, indissoluble solids and other pollutants that it cannot be recycled and enters our treatment plants with other wastewater: this is water that we’ll use for drinking, with no guarantee that all harmful substances have been removed.

While these centers are built to consume, they do produce one thing: noise. The incessant hum or roar generated by servers and industrial air conditioners, which has been compared to the sound of a leaf blower that’s never turned off, can be heard for several miles, especially in the silence of night. Exposure to constant noise has been linked to headaches, poor sleep, nausea, stress and cardiovascular disease. Residents accustomed to delighting in the flutelike melody of the wood thrush or the cheerful cacophony of tree frogs will instead be treated to irritating industrial droning mere steps from their doors. 

The effects of this operation on wildlife will be disastrous. Small or slow moving animals, such as the beloved and already declining eastern box turtle, ground nesting birds, amphibians, and young creatures and their mothers will be pulverized by bulldozers as the land is razed for development. Larger fauna, including deer, bobcats, foxes and coyotes, crowded into the measly few acres granted by the developers for a nature trail and “conservation,” will suffer as they compete for limited resources or are forced to venture further out into rapidly fragmenting habitat. Sediment, runoff and toxins from construction and operation will contaminate the property’s ponds and streams and adversely impact their aquatic life, and potentially the quality of residents’ drinking water. Millions of migrating birds fill our nighttime skies in spring and fall, and the disorienting lights of data centers can cause them to veer off their flight paths, leave them stranded in unsuitable areas, or lead to collisions with buildings. In addition, the site is located alarmingly close to Clinton Nature Preserve, a place which is enjoyed by thousands of families and nature lovers every year.

What will this business offer our community? Like all data centers, it’s a parasite. It takes and takes - an area’s serenity, its beauty, its resources - but gives nothing in return. Those who stand to profit from it don’t live here. They won’t have to look at it, they won’t have their sleep and their stargazing ruined by noise and light pollution, they will pay none of the consequences.

We don’t want East Village Dothan LLC or its destructive project - which will only enrich tech firms and large corporations, not the folks who reside in Douglas County, Carroll County, and the surrounding region - in our community. Please sign and share to show your support!