Growing demand for electricity clashes with clean energy efforts

A Tesla vehicle receives a charge at a charging station, Sept. 28, 2023, in Woodstock, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WABE and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization..

Georgia is enjoying an economic boom. Lured by tax breaks, high-tech data centers and manufacturers are flooding the state. It’s a trend that state leaders are celebrating at every opportunity.

“We have seen over 171,000 new jobs come to our communities; we brought in over $74.5 billion of investment to the state,” Governor Brian Kemp told a gathering of lawmakers, business leaders and other Georgia bigwigs earlier this year.