FOX Business ‘ashley Webster reports on data centers’ giants ‘exploding across the US at rapid rates, creating jobs but also preventing’ making money. ‘
It’s a digital gold rush as data center development is ramping up in a small American city.
As the demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital processing, developers are rushing to protect the earth, energy and water.
That growth is becoming more concentrated: about 1% of US states, about 33, now account for all data center activity from July 2025, according to the latest analysis by Goldman Sachs. But the map changes almost every day.
One Georgia community is experiencing that shift in real time.
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Newton County, about an hour east of Atlanta, is one of four campuses that host Meta’s Stanton Springs Campus.
Fox Business was given an exclusive look inside the facility, which opened in 2018 and continues to expand, with a second campus now under construction. The 1,000 acre site houses eight large buildings, each the length of four football fields, filled with rows of high-yielding testicles that lick 24/7. The cable network is long enough to reach the moon and back. And this is where the data of Facebook, Instagram, whatsapp platforms and other meta platforms are processed and compressed at record speed.
Technology inside Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, Georgia. (FOX Business Network)
It’s just one of 26 data centers currently under construction or in production in the US, with more growth on the horizon.
“I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen this level of focus on data centers,” KC’s Timmons, director of Siteops Global Operations at Meta, told Fox Business. “It’s at a high level. It’s the best we can do.”
Meta’s arrival was widely welcomed, and its investment has become a major economic anchor in the region, creating hundreds of jobs, supporting local contractors and generating long-term tax revenue for schools and public works. The company now employs approximately 400 people in HVAC, electrical, operations and technical roles, most of whom are employed in the surrounding community.
| It’s teasing | Security | – Last | Answer | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Meta platforms inc. | 673.42 | +1.89 |
+ 1.80% |
But meta’s presence now sits alongside the explosive growth the region has experienced this year. And not everyone is happy about it.
“It’s all in the sky,” Newton County Commissioner Leanne Longne told FOX Business. “It’s not what they say. These big developments come with promises of benefits like information, water, electricity. It’s the biggest smoke and mirror thing you’ve ever seen.”
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For a long time, we have also become a real estate broker in the region, questions what happens years from now when the Footprint of the foot industry and large buildings are no longer needed.
“What happened to the communities we lost?” It looked like a long time.
Newton County has become one of the most aggressive data-building areas in Georgia. As of January alone, local officials say 11 data centers are in various stages of planning or construction. Amazon is already building on the purchase of acreage for $ 25 – about $ 50,000 per acre – powered by Georgia Power. And in a nearby social gathering, where the meta is located and places the districts of Newton and Walton, officials revealed seven data center projects without a long-term plan used by the world.
Staff inside Meta’s Stanton Ston Springs Center in Social Circle, Georgia. (FOX Business Network)
“Some would say we’re building the plane while it’s flying,” Serra Hall, executive director of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority, told FOX Business.
Serra said the meta’s success has drawn a wave of new interest in the region, making strategy and communication more important than ever. Since the beginning of the year, he says his phone has been ringing off the hook with inquiries from companies looking to build nearby.
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Part of the reason for the rapid growth is the County’s access to energy, proximity to I-20 and the extensive fiber infrastructure established by Meta. Using the open source meta project established by meta, the first step is to create open source hardware for scalable and efficient data centers to help reduce costs. The OCP Initiative actively encourages and moves more companies to build and adopt a data-intensive infrastructure.
“We’re trying to get everyone around the table and take things down a notch,” Hall said. “It’s about working on the road together. It takes good planning.”
Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center in Social Italy, Georgia. (FOX Business Network)
Frovex for data centers delivers benefits that go beyond operations. As of 2022, when the first meta tax structures come online, the company has committed $12 million in cross-tax components – an amount that is expected to increase as it is built. Before the meta came, that same land came to the tax mill about twenty years under the ownership of the government.
Our Meta has launched efforts to support small businesses, such as a workshop that teaches site owners how to grow with Instagram Rels. Amazon, there, partnered with Newton County schools and Goodr to open an affordable grocery store to provide students with fresh produce and shelf-stable meals.
| It’s teasing | Security | – Last | Answer | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmN | Amazon.com inc. | 229.53 | +0.42 |
+ 0.18% |
However, residents say the promises do not always match their lived experience. Major manufacturers – including Meta, Rivian and Takeda – have joined forces to re-enter the community, but concerns persist as the footprint grows.
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“All of this has just gotten more popular since Jan. 1,” Loung said. “I didn’t even know the data center was a year and a half ago. It was just put together.”
The long stress is that the meta itself is not a problem – its campus is located in a designated business area and did not interfere with residential life. His concerns are the wave of new arrivals, the risk of future infrastructure, and speculative developments in home prices.
For long-time residents, the pace of construction is hard to ignore.
Lisa Miller, 64, lives near land that once held a sawmill and is now an active Amazon construction site.
Amazon Data center construction site in Oxford, Georgia. (FOX Business Network)
“We’re not a big place,” Miller told FOX Business. “People here don’t have cows or horses.” This area has evolved between rural, urban and industrial and industrial areas for decades, but never at a fast pace.
Explosives and heavy construction also raise safety concerns. Miller described the experience of the neighbor: “He heard an explosion – and then all the living rooms of his room fell in.”
Amazon told FOX Business Its $11 billion investment will enable AI Innovation and create thousands of jobs, from network engineers to construction workers, and back with society.
“As we build these areas over the next several years, we are committed to being good neighbors,” said the department’s spokesperson.
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Energy demand is another growing factor. Data centers will use about 8% of all US energy in 2030, and US utilities will need to invest around $50 billion in supporting new facilities, according to Goldman Sachs.
Inside the Stanton Stranton Springs Data Center in Social Circle, Georgia. (FOX Business Network)
Despite concerns, local leaders and residents agree that the solution does not prohibit the industry – to slow down, coordinate and plan for long-term results.
Meta, as the first regional anchor, has committed to providing more renewable energy than it consumes and having water by 2030, aiming to model responsible development.
“If I could say something to the entire nation, it would be: think about us:” Miller said. “Get ready. Don’t just stick to every cow pasture that’s going to be sold.”
