By Jonathan Pless
Otis Ingram and the Davis sisters are joining forces in an effort to place a second Monroe County data center on their combined 900 acres in Bolingbroke. I’ve interviewed numerous locals who are concerned with the center’s placement. Others are worried about potential noise and utility effects.
On the other side of the issue, I also heard from Otis. He’s trying to raise positive awareness and answer community questions about this project. But, most locals I talked to remain in opposition.
Greg Phillips commented, “What he’s trying to do, quite frankly, is make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t.”
Some Background on Data Centers
What exactly are data centers? What drives their demand in our modern age?
I tend to imagine the internet as intangible — all non-physical and mostly air. Whoever coined the term “cloud storage” is deceptively brilliant because the internet has a whole lot of physical components to it, too.
Every bit of content on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, etc. is physically stored on the ground in concrete buildings, namely in data centers. Furthermore, all of the cloud storage you use on your phone — every selfie, note, text message, social media post, and even this very article — is also stored somewhere in a data center.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest driving force for data center demand. Not only do data centers hold information, some are also used for processing power for products like driverless cars, robotics, and other AI operations.
Far beyond the relatively simple selfie storage, AI requires a tremendous amount of this processing power to operate. For example, a typical ChatGPT search uses about ten times as much energy as a normal Google search. That elevated processing power demands more data centers and consequently even more electricity to power them.
Some of the big data center companies (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, etc.) have even begun building dedicated power plants next to their larger data centers.
Data centers require massive amounts of resources to operate: specifically water and electricity. Many centers recycle their water, cutting down on continuous usage. But many people don’t have an understanding of how much electricity data centers use.
They run servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and cooling systems — all of which require power to operate. And like my erroneous mental picture of the internet, I found it difficult to quantify the power use. It’s important to understand the infrastructure required to supply data centers — particularly in Monroe County.
Growing up as a Monroe County native, a friend of mine affectionately referred to Plant Scherer as the “cloud makers”. The cooling towers can be seen for miles around and are an impressive sight. And it’s no wonder, Plant Scherer still holds the title for the most powerful coal-fired plant in North America.
Georgia Power first brought it online in 1982. The coal used to generate power comes from Wyoming. Between two and five 135-car length trains are unloaded daily. The plant now has four generating units online. Each unit is capable of generating a staggering 880 megawatts (MW) of power. For comparison, the Otis/Davis data center is rated to draw up to 1,250 MW of power.
While this rating doesn’t mean that the data center will use up to 33% of the entire energy generation of Plant Scherer, one can begin to quantify the data center’s power usage.
Once the data center ramps up to full capacity, Otis and his team say it will likely use much less than the allocated 1,250 MW of energy as the 1,250 MW number represents the maximum capacity.
While this is a large number, history has shown that at least one benefit to local residents is a very stable power supply. Power companies are inclined to maintain guaranteed supply to one of their biggest customers and surrounding residents benefit too.
When I began to understand what services data centers provide, I realized any criticism of their need would be hypocritical. Unless we can convince the world population to do without phones, laptops and modern technology, the industrialized world with her data centers is here to stay.
Concerns from the Community
It seems the issue at hand is not, “do we need data centers?” but rather, “where should we be placing data centers?”.
This isn’t lost on the locals either. One anonymous Bolingbroke resident confessed, “I know we need these things.” But she is strongly against its placement in her town, commenting, “There are appropriate places that are already zoned that way and that could benefit us from afar, but not within our community.”
Other locals, like Greg Phillips, have been more direct. “If it was a good idea, he [Otis] wouldn’t have to hire a PR firm to sell it.” Greg is a Bolingbroke resident himself. “Just because there’s an empty spot doesn’t has to be commercialized.”
Greg told me that he isn’t against just Otis’s data center. “I feel like that [other data center approval] was done under the cover of darkness. It went rather quick and pretty quiet.” Greg further clarified that he would show the same strong opposition to any new data centers that come to Monroe County.
Another anonymous local highlighted the meaningfulness of Bolingbroke’s history.
The History of the Land
William Morrill Wadley (1813-1882) was born in Brentwood, New Hampshire. At age 20, he moved to Georgia and worked as a blacksmith around the Savannah area. He helped build Ft. Pulaski under the command of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Wadley also superintended numerous other projects, several of which are still standing today. His leadership abilities grew during this time and railroad companies recognized him. He moved around and superintended several Southern railroads. But war was brewing.
The American Civil War (1861-1865) soon obliged Wadley to serve the confederacy with his skills. His task during the war was to supervise and direct the transportation of the Confederacy via railways. During his duties, he was described by peers as “prudent and reasonable”.
After the war, Wadley bought a 1,360 acre plantation and settled down in Bolingbroke, GA — a name he selected for the town. The name Bolingbroke comes from an English philosopher and politician, Lord Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751).
Wadley moved to his plantation in 1873 and named it “Great Hill Place” after his New Hampshire hometown.
Wadley’s legacy continues. A road next to his plantation is named after him. Also, in Macon, you can find a large bronze statue outside of Terminal Station with Wadley’s likeness. It was cast by Robert Cushing in 1884. A group of employees from the railroad and steamship companies that Wadley led commissioned it. It cost $20,000, or around $650,000 in today’s money.
Wadley is buried at Great Hill Place near his house under a grove of trees.
Today, Otis Ingram owns most of Wadley’s old plantation. And he’s the man wanting to build a second data center in Monroe County.
Regarding the historical aspects of the property, Otis Ingram said that it will not be disturbed and cannot be disturbed by law and also noted that he has personally invested into restoring some of the historical buildings on the property since purchasing it.
Ingram’s Plans for the Property
Ingram plans to continue living in his home on the property after the land is developed for this project. He explained, “the current plan is not to sell the house. I’m going to be there. I’m selling the land that made up most of the farm. My wife and I are downsizing but we are going to stay in my house.”
Otis began looking for a buyer for his historic estate around four years ago. Though there was some interest in his house at the time, his 600 acres was of little interest to the potential buyers. “I’m 64 years old but I’m looking at retirement and downsizing, and we have other personal goals.”
About a year ago, he and his wife began looking into options to downsize. They looked at selling just the land or just the house. Before long, Otis decided to pursue placing a data center on his land. He explained, “We were trying to be mindful of the community by putting these data center buildings back behind our houses where they won’t be seen or heard.”
Working with engineers to find the best place for the buildings on the property, Otis and his team talked with Central GA EMC. Otis says they’ve approved the allocation of 1,250 MW for the site. Otis says the costs wouldn’t be passed on to residents and won’t result in blackouts. Otis also tells me that the Macon Water Authority has approved daily usage of one million gallons of water out of their 30 million-gallon excess.
According to Otis’s team, the data center would bring in an estimated $133.1 million of tax revenue for Monroe County and $196.8 million for the Monroe County School System over the next decade and create between 200 and 250 new permanent jobs. All of these jobs will be paying $80,000 or more.
The Davis Sisters’ Involvement
The Monroe County Commissioners recently added a stipulation that any data center has to be built on at least 900 acres. The Davis sisters, Haley Newman (who lives in Monroe County) and Holly Doss (who lives in California), agreed to contribute approximately 365 acres of their land. Otis remarked, “The Davis ladies and I are in this together with our combined property.”
Addressing Concerns
Otis addressed the extra environmental considerations his engineers have taken. The heat produced by the servers inside the data centers require a lot of cooling. As mentioned, data centers commonly recycle any water they can for cooling purposes.
Otis says his engineers estimate daily usage of 300,000 gallons instead of the 1 million gallons originally requested.
“There will be some evaporation over time and there’ll be supplemental water added, but the majority of that water will be recycled.”
Otis also told me of the community open house meeting his team of engineers held in Forsyth on April 14th. Around 50 people attended and voiced their concerns and asked questions.
Based on that meeting, Otis said, “We made some modifications to our plans. One thing that came out of that was making larger buffers. Code requires only 100 feet and we increased it to 300 foot buffers.”
I asked Otis about noise concerns that some nearby residents inquired about. “Now, there is a small humming, but it’s at 45 decibels (dB). And the interstate is between 65 and 75 dB. So the moral of that story is that the interstate is louder than the data center. So if you don’t see it and you can’t hear it over the interstate it should be invisible to the community.”
Your Questions Answered
At this point in the interview we transitioned and I asked Otis some specific questions from the community:
Jonathan: Are there any safety precautions in place (e.g. fire) that we know local emergency services can adequately handle?
Otis: “Every one of those buildings will have some form of fire suppression in them. These facilities typically are state of the art, cutting edge technology, and regulated by the state.”
Jonathan: What made you decide on the Bolingbroke location instead of an industrial park area?
Otis: “There are no other 900 acre spots that also have access to the water and the power needed for a data center. See, the key thing is the power. You’ve got to have close access to the power and you can’t be much closer to the Oglethorpe/Central GA EMC plant than we are. Also, per the Monroe County Comprehensive Plan, commercial developments should be near the interstate. We have over a mile of frontage on I-475 and Highway 41.”
Jonathan: How do you feel you have positively contributed to our community?
Otis: “I might refer you to one of the first articles we wrote in the Monroe County Reporter. Over the 30 years that I have been in this community, as a developer, landowner, real estate manager, I have improved the community, specifically, the city of Forsyth, with our projects, jobs, sales taxes and services.” You can see Otis’s April 23rd article in the Monroe County Reporter titled, “A Message to Monroe County: Facts, Values, and the Future of Our Community”.
Jonathan: Some residents have expressed concern over a development of this size and your ability to complete it. What’s your response to these concerns?
Otis: “I am not the developer for this project. We’re just selling the land. So if someone buys this property, they’re going to have the means to develop it. And so it won’t involve me.”
Jonathan: Do you have a specific commitment for a data center pending rezoning? If the data center falls through but the rezoning is approved, do you have any other plans for the land?
Otis: “The short answer is: no, I don’t have a contingency plan and no, I don’t have a buyer.” He continued, “What I’m told is once we get the zoning, I would say within a year to fifteen months, we should have a buyer for this property. And most of all of them have the means to not only build the site, but they have the means to build this in a friendly way to our community with all the buffers and, you know, all the things we’ve mentioned, which were priorities.” Otis also added, in reference to his unfinished retirement home community, “If I sell this property here in the next year, I will have the means to start the senior center immediately.”
Jonathan: Are you willing to delay this project to allow time for Monroe County to develop regulations, impact studies, etc. for future data centers?
Otis: “No. I want to take advantage of the pent-up demand there is for data centers to get the best price I can for my property. And I wouldn’t want to delay it. And again, I’m 64 years old. I’m not looking to delay things unnecessarily.”
“We Have Met the Enemy And He is Us”
When I was interviewing and researching for this article, I came across this fitting quote. It was originally inspired by Master Commandant Oliver Perry during the War of 1812. And much later, in 1970, a cartoonist named Walt Kelly modified and re-popularized the phrase. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
This speaks of mankind’s tendency to create many of our own problems. Like it or not, industrialized society has progressed to the point where we have a need for data centers.
To be clear, neither Otis nor the residents of Bolingbroke are the lone enemy. Otis wants to build this for his own reasons; locals are against it for their own reasons. Yet, we collectively end up being our own worst enemies because we all use data centers daily and drive their demand.
So where do we put these data centers? What are the long term issues which may arise from one being placed in Bolingbroke? That’s for you to talk about and for our elected leaders to decide. Contact them and voice your opinion on the matter. You can find their contact information at monroecoga.org/commissioners. Additionally, you can contact Otis’s Team at bolingbroketech.com for more information and any questions you have.
No matter the outcome of this specific issue, I believe we can continue to build our county well and keep our county strong. One of America’s greatest strengths lies in our right to free speech. I encourage the community to talk with one another and listen well. Also, fellow citizens, talk with your elected leaders.
We only lose if we stop talking and listening to one another. We can keep working together: being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. I believe we can do this together. I know we can because we all agree that Monroe Matters.
