OpenAI Plans $20–$30B Savannah Data Center

OpenAI announced Project Camellia, a data center campus in Effingham County near Savannah, Georgia, with a projected cost of $20 to $30 billion and consuming about 3.2 gigawatts of power, to be delivered in a phased rollout from 2028 to 2032. It is described as OpenAI’s first ground-up data center designed and built by the company, and could become the county’s largest single taxpayer with hundreds to thousands of jobs. Effingham County approved a 15-year, 50% property tax abatement; OpenAI pledged about $80 million for a community fund and up to $71 million in Codex credits for Georgia students. OpenAI also plans to cover infrastructure costs and implement a 1 gigawatt flexible demand response to reduce power usage during peak demand. The project is slated to use a closed-loop cooling system and Georgia Power will supply electricity, with assurances that local residential rates will not rise due to the project. The announcements have sparked debate among residents and environmental groups over public input, groundwater availability, broader ecosystem impacts, and the long-term sustainability of mega-data centers, while critics call for more transparency and scrutiny of environmental and public-input processes.