In short
Georgia has no renewable portfolio standard or any law that requires AI data centers to buy clean energy. The state’s major utility, Georgia Power, is a regulated monopoly. Clean energy choices for a large AI data center come mainly through Georgia Power’s Customer-Identified Resource program, approved in April 2026. That program lets a big customer bring its own renewable project and get credit on its bill. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a large generation buildout in 2025 that includes up to 4,000 megawatts of new renewables, but the overall grid will still rely heavily on natural gas and coal for years. The state sales tax exemption for high technology AI data center equipment has no green energy requirement, though lawmakers have proposed repealing it. At the local level, counties like DeKalb are starting to tie zoning bonuses to renewable energy use. This article walks through the rules that matter most to a developer or lender.
Does Georgia require clean energy for AI data centers
No. Georgia has never passed a renewable portfolio standard. A renewable portfolio standard requires a utility to supply a set percentage of its power from renewables. Georgia is among the states without one. DSIRE
Georgia Power serves most of the state as a vertically integrated monopoly. The electricity market is not deregulated, so a customer who wants renewable power cannot shop for a different supplier. Georgia Power customers may voluntarily participate in the renewable energy programs the utility offers. Renewable Energy Programs No state law requires an AI data center specifically to buy clean energy. Instead, pressure to use renewables comes from corporate sustainability goals, customer demand, and the utility’s voluntary offerings.
How does the Georgia PSC shape power choices for AI data centers
The Georgia Public Service Commission sets the rules and approves Georgia Power’s long-range plan, called the Integrated Resource Plan. The 2025 plan, approved in July 2025, authorizes up to 4,000 megawatts of new renewable resources by 2035, along with more than 1,500 megawatts of battery energy storage. Georgia Power press release However, the same plan keeps large coal units running through at least 2034 and adds a considerable amount of new natural gas generation. About 37 percent of the new generation requested was gas fired. Georgia Power press release
In January 2025 the Commission adopted a rule aimed at very large new electric customers. Any new customer whose demand exceeds 100 megawatts may be placed on a special contract. The contract can include a minimum monthly bill, a term of up to 15 years (up from the previous 5 year limit), and charges that recover the utility’s cost of building generation, transmission, and distribution to serve that customer. The rule is designed to stop costs from spilling onto other ratepayers. All such contracts must be submitted to the PSC at least 30 days before they are signed. PSC data center fact sheet, PSC press release
In December 2025 the Commission approved a large generation buildout agreement totaling 9,885 megawatts. About 80 percent of that new capacity is expected to serve AI data centers. Georgia Power agreed to financially backstop the projects through 2031. If the company does not have enough signed customer contracts by the end of 2026, the PSC can cancel unbuilt projects. Base electric rates were frozen through 2028 under a July 2025 PSC order. PSC fact sheet
What clean energy programs can AI data centers use
Georgia Power offers a Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription. The Customer Identified Resource program, approved by the Commission in April 2026, allows large commercial and industrial customers to bring their own clean energy resources onto Georgia Power’s system. Utility Dive
The CIR program is a bring your own model. An industrial customer with at least 15 megawatts of new load (or an aggregated existing load of at least 3 megawatts) can identify a specific renewable energy project, such as a solar farm or a battery storage facility. The customer commits to pay for the output, and Georgia Power procures the project. In exchange the customer receives hourly energy credits on its monthly bill, and Georgia Power retires the renewable energy certificates on the customer’s behalf. Georgia Power CIR page
The program caps total customer-identified capacity at 3,000 megawatts through 2035. That cap makes the program a finite resource. Early movers may have an advantage. There is also the standard CARES program, where customers subscribe to utility owned renewable projects, but the CIR option gives the customer direct control over the location and technology.
Does the sales tax exemption push clean energy
No. The Georgia high-technology data center equipment sales tax exemption has no energy source requirement. The exemption, found in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(68.1), lets a qualifying AI data center buy or lease equipment free of state and local sales and use tax. The exemption period runs from July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2031. O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(68.1)
To qualify, a facility must meet minimum investment and job thresholds during any seven year window that begins after July 1, 2018 and ends by the sunset date. The required amounts depend on the county’s population, using the most recent decennial census.
| County population (2020 Census) | Minimum investment (7-year total) | Minimum new quality jobs |
|---|---|---|
| More than 50,000 | $250 million | 25 |
| 30,001 to 50,000 | $75 million | 10 |
| 30,000 or fewer | $25 million | 5 |
A New Quality Job means an employee regularly working 30 or more hours per week in the county on matters directly related to the High Technology Data Center and earning at least 110 percent of the county average wage. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-12-2-.117 The Department of Revenue can require a bond of up to $20 million, which is forfeited if the investment target is not met.
The exemption does not ask about energy use. The required annual reports cover only job creation, payroll, and tax deductible investment. No report on electricity, water, or emissions is filed with the state.
The exemption is under political pressure. A December 2025 state audit found that the tax break cost Georgia nearly $500 million in forgone revenue in fiscal year 2025 alone, with a projected net negative impact rising to $780 million by 2030. Audit report The audit estimated that about 70 percent of AI data center construction would have happened even without the exemption. Several bills introduced in 2025 and 2026 seek to sunset the exemption early or repeal it. In 2024 the General Assembly passed a bill to suspend the exemption, but Governor Kemp vetoed it. The exemption’s future is a major risk for any development that relies on it.
Can a local government enforce clean energy rules
Yes, to a degree. Georgia law gives counties and cities broad zoning authority. A local government cannot mandate a statewide energy mix, but it can set conditions on land use permits. The most detailed example comes from DeKalb County.
DeKalb County has been working on a comprehensive AI data center ordinance while a temporary moratorium was in place. The moratorium was extended to June 23, 2026. Decaturish The draft ordinance contains a direct renewable energy incentive. A medium, major, or campus AI data center that offsets at least 45 percent of its total energy use with renewable sources can be built to a maximum height of 150 feet (the normal limit is 75 feet). DeKalb County draft ordinance
The draft also would require closed loop cooling systems and a suite of plans covering noise, water, energy, transmission impacts, tree preservation, stormwater, and sewer. The energy plan must spell out daily operational load, strategies to reduce strain on local power infrastructure, ways to minimize the need for new transmission lines, and sustainable on site power options. Draft DeKalb Data Center Ordinance § 27-4.2.64(F)(1)(d)
As of the publication date, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners had not adopted the final ordinance, though a public hearing was held on May 12, 2026. DeKalb County File 2025-0972, Decaturish If adopted, it could become a model for other Georgia counties.
Other local actions have been less clean-energy focused. Atlanta prohibited AI data centers near MARTA rail stations and the Beltline. Many counties have considered or passed temporary moratoriums. Statewide, at least 63 local AI data center moratorium actions have been introduced, considered, or adopted across dozens of towns and counties, with 54 having passed, and Georgia accounts for a share. Good Jobs First
What Georgia bills could change the rules
The 2025-2026 legislative session saw many bills aimed at AI data centers. None of them would impose a clean energy purchase requirement, but they would reshape the legal and financial environment.
| Bill | Key provision | Latest status (as of May 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| HB 528 | Requires facilities with peak demand of 30 MW or more to file annual public reports on energy and water use. HB 528, Georgia Recorder | Introduced. No final passage confirmed. Science for Georgia, Georgia Municipal Association |
| SB 34 / HB 1063 | Requires utility contracts with large load customers to include terms designed to protect residential and retail customers from AI data center costs. SB 34, HB 1063 | Introduced. Similar bills in both chambers. Georgia SB 34, Georgia HB 1063, News report |
| HB 1012 | Proposed a statewide moratorium on new AI data center permits from July 1, 2026 until March 1, 2027. HB 1012 | Introduced but died in committee when the 2026 session ended. HB 1012 |
| SB 408 / SB 410 | SB 408 would accelerate the sunset of the AI data center sales tax exemption and SB 410 would eliminate it. SB 408, SB 410 | Introduced but failed to pass. SB 408 did not cross over and died, and SB 410 passed the Senate but not the House. Georgia SB 408, Georgia SB 410 |
The 2026 session ended in early April. Final action on these bills is uncertain. Developers should track them because even a bill that does not pass in one session often returns the next year.
How are developers responding to the lack of a mandate
Despite the absence of a state clean energy requirement, many of the largest technology companies have made their own commitments and are using Georgia’s voluntary tools. Microsoft pledged to use renewable biofuel for backup generators at its Georgia AI data centers and committed to 100 percent renewable energy coverage globally by 2025. New Microsoft AI data centers designed after August 2024 use zero water evaporated direct to chip cooling. Microsoft fact sheet AWS stated that it matched 100 percent of its electricity consumption with renewable energy sources in 2024. Georgia Trend
Those pledges rely on programs like the CIR and on utility-scale renewable procurement. The Georgia Power IRP also contributes a growing amount of solar and storage. For a developer or lender, the practical clean energy story is a combination of corporate buying power and the new CIR program, not state law.
Key takeaways
- Georgia imposes no renewable energy mandate on AI data centers. The decision to use clean power is voluntary and market driven.
- The PSC’s 100 megawatt large-load rule and the large generation buildout shape how AI data centers pay for power, but not what fuels the grid.
- The CIR program is the main tool for a hyperscaler that wants to secure its own renewable energy. Its 3,000 megawatt cap means early adopters may benefit most.
- The sales tax exemption offers big savings but carries no energy condition and faces a real risk of early repeal.
- Local zoning in places like DeKalb County can offer incentives (like height bonuses) for renewable energy, but also moratoriums and restrictive conditions. Site selection must account for these local rules.
- Several 2025-2026 bills could bring new transparency rules or cost shifting bans. Even if they did not pass this session, similar ideas are likely to return.
Frequently asked questions
Q:Does Georgia law require AI data centers to use renewable energy?
A:No. Georgia has no renewable portfolio standard and no law that requires any AI data center to buy clean energy.
Q:What is the CIR program and who is eligible?
A:The Customer-Identified Resource program lets a large commercial or industrial customer bring its own renewable energy project to Georgia Power. The customer identifies the project, commits to pay for its output, and receives renewable energy certificates and bill credits. To qualify for the CIR program, a customer must have at least 15 megawatts of new load, or an aggregated existing load of at least 3 megawatts. Georgia Power CIR page
Q:What does the 100 megawatt PSC rule mean for my project?
A:If your new facility’s demand exceeds 100 megawatts, Georgia Power may put you on a special contract. The contract can include a minimum monthly bill, a term of up to 15 years, and charges for the cost of building generation, transmission, and distribution to serve your load. The contract must be filed with the PSC at least 30 days before it is signed. PSC data center fact sheet
Q:What investment is needed to get the sales tax exemption?
A:The minimum investment and job thresholds depend on the county’s population. In a county with more than 50,000 people, you must invest at least $250 million and create 25 quality jobs over a seven year period. In a county of 30,001 to 50,000 people, the figures are $75 million and 10 jobs. In a county of 30,000 or fewer, they are $25 million and 5 jobs. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-12-2-.117
Q:How long does the sales tax exemption last?
A:The exemption runs from July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2031. After that date, all purchases become fully taxable unless the legislature extends the period. O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(68.1)
Q:Has DeKalb County passed an AI data center ordinance?
A:As of May 23, 2026, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners had not adopted a final ordinance. A public hearing was held on May 12, 2026. The draft includes a height bonus for projects that offset 45 percent of energy use with renewables. Draft DeKalb County data center ordinance § 27-4.2.64(C)(8)
Q:Which Georgia bills would require energy reporting for AI data centers?
A:HB 528 would require any facility with a peak demand of 30 megawatts or more to file an annual public report on its energy and water use. HB 528 died in the House, never receiving a committee hearing, and failed to pass before the 2026 session adjourned on April 2, 2026. HB 528, BillTrack50
Q:Can a local government stop an AI data center from being built?
A:Yes. Local governments control zoning and land use. Several Georgia counties have adopted temporary moratoriums on new AI data center permits. The Atlanta City Council banned new AI data centers near MARTA stations. A local government can also condition a permit on meeting energy, water, and noise standards.
Q:Do any Georgia incentives reward clean energy use?
A:The strongest direct incentive is in the draft DeKalb County ordinance, which would allow a 150-foot height bonus for projects that offset at least 45 percent of total energy with renewables. At the state level, there is no tax credit or grant tied specifically to AI data center clean energy use.
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Junde Liu, JD, LL.M. (Taxation) candidate at UF Law. Originally published on Compute Law Blog. This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. The reader should not act on the basis of any content here without first consulting a licensed attorney in the relevant state. Last reviewed for accuracy May 23, 2026.