Nimbys Threaten to Sink Project Sail, a $17b Datacenter Development in Georgia

I prefer to use the term NIMBY for folks that are pushing back on a greater societal good in preference to their personal benefit. Fighting low cost housing, or nuclear power, or solar farms.

I'm not sure protecting your water or power rates is what I have in mind when I hear NIMBY.

Given the current state of the AI bubble - what are this DC's chances of being built regardless?

(For those unfamiliar, this is hardly the first time that a Georgia county's gov't has favored hot-trend high-tech development over the clear wishes of their voters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport_Camden )

These giant datacentres bring nothing to a community; they only take, take, take. Why would anyone want one in their neighbourhood?

The news during the industrial revolution must’ve been like “Working class NIMBYs threaten economic development with petty complaints about smog and sludge water from our great new factories.”

It's unfortunate that 'NIMBY', a pejorative at this point, is used to describe anyone who has concerns like these.

They should kill it. It will raise their electricity prices and use their water with little benefit to the community.

Water Crisis of Data Centers: Google, Meta, and the Hidden Costs of AI Growth - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44984513 - August 2025

Tucson City Council Pulls Plug on Amazon's Project Blue Data Center - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44831057 - August 2025

US utilities plot big rise in electricity rates as data centre demand booms - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523686 - July 2025

Data center projects blocked or delayed amid local opposition - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44097350 - May 2025

https://www.datacenterwatch.org/report

Everyone's water and power bills go up, they get a tax break and therefore don't contribute to the local budget, and almost no local jobs are created.... it’s just not a great deal for the residents.