A Georgia woman who became a prominent voice in the debate over AI-driven infrastructure expansion has posted an emotional farewell to the home at the center of her campaign against a power transmission project linked to data center growth. Ansley Brown, of Coweta County, posted on X: "Today is the day we say goodbye to my childhood home. Soon to be demolished by Georgia Power for the data centers." Accompanying the post, Brown also shared a video saying goodbye to the property where she grew up, after a prolonged dispute over plans to acquire the land for a transmission project associated with growing electricity demand in Georgia.
Brown has emerged as one of the most visible opponents of the Georgia Power project over the past year, using social media to document her family's fight against data centers and to raise awareness about the impact of data centers on rural communities. According to Georgia Power, the Ashley Park-Wansley 500-kilovolt transmission project is a new 35-mile transmission line connecting the Ashley Park Substation in Fayette County and Plant Wansley in Heard County. The utility says the project is needed to “strengthen and expand the electric grid,” support reliability and prepare for growing energy demand in Georgia.
Brown argued that the project would destroy property that had been intended to remain in her family for generations. In an interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene's "Life With MTG" program, Brown said: "They're going to completely demolish it to the ground and all of the buildings that are here that belong to my mom as well. We'll never be able to come back here." She also described the home as a source of "generational wealth," adding: "The whole point for us was generational wealth, which is the American dream.
And it's being taken from us." The interview brought national attention to Brown's campaign and her criticism of the use of something called “eminent domain” for infrastructure, which she argued primarily benefits data center developments. Newsweek has contacted Ansley Brown and Marjorie Taylor Greene for comment. Eminent domain is the legal authority allowing governments and certain utilities to acquire private property for projects that serve a public purpose, provided the property owners receive appropriate compensation.
The concept is rooted in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that "private property" shall not "be taken for public use, without just compensation." Under Georgia law, electric utilities are allowed to exercise eminent domain for certain transmission-line projects, subject to public notice, routing, and landowner-negotiation requirements. This means electric utilities such as Georgia Power can force the sale of private property needed for certain power-line projects, even if the owner doesn’t want to sell, as long as the utility follows legal procedures and pays compensation.
Brown and other opponents have argued that transmission infrastructure, built largely to support private-sector data centers, shouldn’t qualify as a public-use project. Georgia Power has repeatedly defended the project and the land acquisition process. On its project page, the company says the transmission line is "critical infrastructure" designed to enhance grid reliability, support evolving energy needs, and ensure resilient electric service for decades to come.
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