OpenAI announced initial commitments guiding Project Camellia, a long-term data center project it is designing and developing in Effingham County, Georgia. To support the facility, OpenAI is contracting with Georgia Power Company for 3.2 gigawatts of power, to be delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032.
The company said electricity rates will not increase for residents because of the project, since OpenAI will pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric-service costs required to serve it, costs that cannot be passed on to existing ratepayers under Georgia Public Service Commission rules; the project is also designed to proactively reduce its power consumption during periods of high demand before residential customers are affected. On water use, OpenAI said the facility will rely on a closed-loop water system that recirculates water rather than continuously withdrawing and discharging it, similar to a car radiator, with ongoing water needs limited to typical office-building usage such as restrooms and sanitation.
OpenAI said it will provide $80 million in community benefits over the life of the project, directed toward local priorities including schools, public safety, health care, utilities, workforce training, housing, veterans’ services, and support for small businesses, separate from projected tax revenue. The company expects to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue and to become the largest taxpayer in the county, while creating thousands of construction and permanent on-site jobs with a priority on local contractors and businesses. OpenAI is also making up to $71 million in credits available for its Codex agentic coding tool to eligible Georgia college, community college, and technical school students, who will receive $100 in ChatGPT account credits to build technical skills. An independent firm will conduct an annual public audit to help ensure the project meets its stated commitments.
The proposed site sits within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, a pre-existing industrially zoned warehouse project, which OpenAI said is expected to generate materially less traffic than a warehouse development on the same site while using less water and supporting more durable on-site employment. OpenAI held a public open house on July 23 for residents to meet the project team and provide input that will help shape a Georgia Community Compact memorializing these commitments. The company said Project Camellia would be entirely privately funded and pointed to its existing campus in Abilene, Texas, which is already training frontier models and supporting thousands of jobs, as an example of the kind of economic activity it expects the Georgia project to generate.
