Midterms 2026: Georgians on the front lines of the people’s war against data centres

Quilliam Barber surveyed his backyard on a beautiful fall morning – the towering trees shading the southern sun, early autumn leaves dotting the green lawn, a tuneful bird working the quiet of this rural Georgia district to its advantage – and let out a heavy, forlorn sigh. “I feel terrible. It's right there,” said the 67-year-old retired truck driver, gesturing towards the sprawling open land behind his backyard. “It’s right up under my arm, you know. And I can do nothing about it.” Quilliam Barber and his wife, Wilhemina Barber, take a break in their backyard in Coweta County in the southern US state of Georgia. © Leela Jacinto, FRANCE 24 The Barbers’ property abuts a massive, 800-acre tract earmarked for a hyperscale data centre in Georgia’s Coweta County in the Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, part of the wider Apalachicola Basin in southeastern USA. His new neighbour, the Project Sail data centre, made headlines in early 2025, when the eye-popping scale of the plan came to light. The $17 billion venture, estimated to require roughly 900 megawatts of electricity and 9 million gallons of water, includes 13 buildings, each covering 378,000 square feet, taking the total land area...