Data centers in McDuffie County, Georgia: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

McDuffie County commissioners approved Project Azalea, a campus of up to six data center buildings on about 200 wooded acres on Randall Hunt Road near Thomson, by a 4-1 vote on March 17, 2026. The developer is Cameron Grogan of Williams Brothers Development, who said the site was picked for the Georgia Power substation next to it and that the campus would need 400 megawatts of power. It could be finished by 2029.

A state-required regional review put the campus at about $1 billion, with roughly $25 million a year in local revenue and about 125 permanent jobs; Grogan said the revenue could nearly double the county budget. The same review found that "sufficient energy supply is not available to serve this project" while Georgia Power, Georgia Transmission and the electric cooperative study upgrades, and said no traffic study had been done. The site lies in an area the county plan sets aside to keep its rural character.

Residents were split. "You can ride up and down the road and see two or three cars," said Thomson resident Gary Norris, warning of heavy trucks on roads not built for them. Carrie Davis said she had bought a new home to get away from Columbia County's data centers and learned of this one on Facebook. "We don't have any NDAs," Grogan said. "We're not hiding behind anything." The campus will have its own substation and backup generators.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.