Solar companies are racing to develop thousands of acres of new panel farms in Georgia as they seek to take advantage of expiring federal tax incentives and help satiate booming power demand in the state.

But despite being a clean energy source, some projects are facing local backlash, with at least one facing a lawsuit. The opposition is partly because solar farms help generate power for data centers, which are experiencing their own national backlash, sustainability experts say. 

As the data center surge continues, developers are increasingly looking to solar for a portion of the power. Data centers are expected to drive an additional terawatt of utility-scale solar power in the next decade, TechCrunch reported, citing energy consulting firm BloombergNEF.

Opposition is “just growing with the growth of solar,” said David Hess, a professor and sustainability studies chair at Vanderbilt University. “But I think it’s merging with the data center sentiment.”

Georgia Power obtained approval last year to expand the state’s energy grid by 10 gigawatts by 2030, mainly to accommodate the influx of data centers. Renewable energy sources make up 6% of the energy generated by Georgia Power’s grid, but the utility is working to boost solar as demand increases. Earlier this year, it approved 16 solar power purchase agreements.

Backlash at the local level could threaten to derail those efforts.

As of September, eight developers have 16 planned utility-scale solar projects in Georgia, according to data center analysis firm Cleanview. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is reviewing at least four solar projects in Georgia as part of its development of regional impact program, including San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy’s proposed 1,600-acre site in Miller County.

The community affairs agency reviews and approves land use changes for development projects that will impact regional infrastructure. Other projects under consideration include a 150-acre, 27-megawatt solar park by Atlanta-based Inman Solar in Effingham County, about 20 miles north of the new Hyundai Metaplant near Savannah; a 2,500-acre solar farm by San Antonio-based OCI Energy about 25 miles south of Albany; and two NextEra Energy Resources projects. 

NextEra spokesperson Alexis Jones said in an email that its $430M Amber Meadow project, once built, is expected to contribute about $49.2M to local taxing authorities over the life of the project.

Many developers are looking to take advantage of renewable energy incentives that are being phased out under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the law, solar projects must be in service by the end of 2027 to qualify for a tax credit, unless a developer can show that construction began by July 4, 2026. 

But local residents are worried the projects could hurt nearby property values, create stormwater and other ecological issues, and change the makeup of a community. 

In July, an Irwin County couple sued NextEra and the local development authority over plans for Amber Meadow, alleging the project is utilizing tax incentives for a project that they say will ultimately harm their neighboring property values, TGV News reported. 

In June, the Lee County Board of Commissioners rejected a request for Inman Solar to build a nearly 16 MW, utility-scale solar farm on 123 acres just outside of Albany, Georgia, following concerns over environmental impacts, property rights and industrializing a residential area, The Albany Herald reported.

And in Bacon County, residents have protested a plan by Nashville-based Silicon Ranch to develop a $300M solar farm that would generate enough electricity for 50,000 houses, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

“It’s not about the energy. It’s about the character of the area that you live,” said Laura Taylor, director of Georgia Tech's Energy Policy and Innovation Center. “Any place you’ve seen a significant amount of utility-scale solar take hold, you begin to see pushback from rural, typically farming communities because they’re worried it’s changing the character of their community.”

Mounting national opposition to data center construction is also spilling over to solar panel projects, said Mark McNees, director of Florida State University’s social and sustainable enterprises master’s program. Many data center projects won’t produce the local jobs that would offset the expanded consumption and costs of power, McNees added. 

“You don’t have the economic benefit to the community. You have a huge power increase to the community. And what could be worse?” he said. 

For landowners, solar farms provide an opportunity to harvest financial gain from their holdings, Taylor said. Using land for pure agricultural use could generate an average of $150 per acre annually. But a solar company lease lasting 20 years or more could generate $1,500 per acre per year for landlords, Taylor said. 

Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Bert Brantley, who was the former deputy chief of staff for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, said demand for more power is necessitating more solar farms in Georgia, especially in rural areas where land is more plentiful. 

“We are completely in favor of more power generation to make sure that we stay competitive and the leading edge of growing smart,” Brantley said. “It doesn’t matter where they’re at, because they’re all part of the generation mix.”