Georgia Power faces immense backlash for allegedly using eminent domain to acquire properties in order to supply power to new data center developments.

“My name is Ansley Brown, I have lived in Coweta County Georgia my entire life. Eminent domain is threatening my childhood home to supply power to DATA CENTERS. Thank you to everybody who has joined this fight with me, and I have been in contact with @johnrich,” Ansley Brown wrote.

Brown claims that “330 properties, 21 houses” are being demolished.

“No joke you guys, eminent domain is taking people’s homes out here in Coweta County,” Brown said.

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“GEORGIA POWER THINKS THEIR PROJECT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN AMERICAN FARMERS. Hear Brianna’s heartbreaking testimony on how Georgia Power is taking her generational cattle pasture,” Brown wrote.

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Ansley Brown said the home, purchased by her mother in 2003, is now at the center of a dispute with the utility company over plans to replace existing power lines and expand infrastructure tied to the development.

“This is a real David and Goliath story in my opinion,” Brown said. “We’re going against a $2 billion power company for our home.”

Brown said the situation has caused significant stress for her family, particularly her mother.

“Truthfully, I feel like this is physically aging my mother in how much stress that this has put on her,” she said. “For that, me personally, I’ll go to war.”

Over the past year, Brown said she has challenged Georgia Power’s efforts, including discussions with state lawmakers such as Sen. Greg Dolezal. She also alleges the company is attempting to undervalue the property.

“They are using all these different tactics to try and diminish the value of this home so that they don’t have to pay us fair market value,” Brown said.

Georgia Power said in a statement that only about 1% of its land acquisitions involve eminent domain and that it often offers property owners more than market value. The company also said it is in final negotiations with Brown’s mother.

“We have accepted the homeowner’s offer of well above 125% of fair market value for the property. Claims that we don’t offer more than fair market value for any home we must acquire are completely false,” a statement from Georgia Power said.

However, Brown claims the threat of legal action is driving the negotiations.

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“They are only saying they’re in final negotiations with us because they are threatening with condemnation,” she said. “They are telling us, if we do not settle soon, they are going to take us to court and have a jury decide who gets this house and how it plays out.”

“I’m fighting for survival of my cattle farm. I’m here because a massive data center was approved just a couple of miles from my land, Project Sail, and I’m being hounded by Georgia Power for an easement to build transmission lines through my property for the data center,” one woman said.

“I’m a local farmer, not an industrial developer. These 500-kV lines aren’t for me. They are for the data centers that the boards and surrounding counties continue to approve. I have mail from lawyers stacking up on my kitchen table wanting to take my case because they know my land is being targeted for eminent domain,” she continued.

“I’m asking you to realize the real-world impacts of your votes. Every time you say yes to a data center, you’re saying no to a local farmer. We aren’t just numbers on a map. We are the future of the county, and right now you’re making that future impossible,” she added.

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“Today I went out to Fayette County where the SAME project that is threatening my moms property, is threatening many other home owners! Georgia Power wants to put their easement 25 feet from her home destroying EVERYTHING she has built since 2002. Save GA homesteads!!!” Brown said in another video.

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“This Fayette County property is being cut in half by Georgia Power for the same project. With cancer risks and dangerous construction what was once her dream home is now being stolen from her. Georgia Power is not interested in purchasing her entire home just to take the backyard,” she said in another video.

“It’s official! Thanks to a historic loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to Southern Company, we’re expanding and enhancing our diverse generation mix—and Plant Wansley is a big part of what’s next,” Georgia Power said earlier this month.

“Plant Wansley began commercial operation in 1976 and, for decades, safely and reliably powered homes, businesses, and communities across Georgia. Since we retired our units there 2022, many of our neighbors and friends have asked what’s next?” it continued.

“Plant Wansley is just one example of broader investments happening across the state. Over the coming years, we are adding more than 10,000 megawatts of new generation to deliver the baseload power, reliability, and resiliency our customers expect—today and in the future. The future of energy in Georgia is being built—starting here,” it added.

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“This is the project that is causing 330 people to lose their properties. Many of which have been here for generations. It will cross over several already approved data centers,” Brown commented.

“I got the opportunity to show Georgia state senator Greg Dolezal around the property that @GeorgiaPower is trying to take from my family through eminent domain. I will not stop fighting!” Brown said in another video.

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11Alive shared video coverage of the dispute:

 

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