# OpenAI Plans a 3.2-Gigawatt Data Center in Georgia: Meet Project Camellia

Hi everyone, it's Shiichan! Today's news is about a data center project OpenAI is building in the US, and what stood out to me is how much detail they shared about working with the local community.

## What was announced?

From OpenAI's News: OpenAI announced Project Camellia, a long-term data center project it's designing and developing in Effingham County, Georgia. To power the facility, OpenAI is contracting with Georgia Power Company for 3.2 gigawatts of power, delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032.

## Why it matters

New data center projects tend to raise real questions for local communities — electricity costs, water use, jobs. Even while OpenAI says it's still early in the development process, it published its initial commitments up front for how it will engage, develop, and operate the project. OpenAI's first campus, in Abilene, Texas, is already operating at scale, training frontier models and supporting thousands of jobs — Project Camellia is the next big infrastructure step, and it's a useful example of how AI compute buildouts are trying to work with host communities.

## What changes

Here are the four commitments OpenAI outlined:

- **Electricity rates**: Residents won't see rate increases because of this project. OpenAI will pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric-service required to serve it, and under Georgia Public Service Commission rules, those costs can't be passed on to existing ratepayers. The facility is also expected to be one of the first data centers designed to proactively reduce its own power consumption before residential customers are affected during high-demand periods.
- **Water use**: The project uses a closed-loop water system that recirculates water rather than continuously withdrawing and discharging it — similar to how a car radiator works — to keep ongoing water use low. It won't divert water from local communities, and its everyday water needs are expected to be comparable to an office building of similar size (restrooms, kitchens, sanitation, maintenance).
- **Community benefits**: OpenAI will provide $80 million in community benefits over the life of the project, directed toward schools, public safety, health care, utilities, workforce training, housing, veterans' services, and support for small businesses and working families — separate from tax revenue and the Codex credits below. The project is also expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue, making OpenAI likely the county's largest taxpayer, and to create thousands of construction and permanent on-site jobs with priority given to local contractors. On top of that, OpenAI is making up to $71 million in Codex credits available to eligible students at Georgia colleges, community colleges, and technical schools — each eligible student gets $100 in credits through their ChatGPT account to build projects and develop hands-on skills with agentic AI.
- **Accountability**: An annual, publicly available audit by an independent firm will track whether these commitments are being met.

## Dive Deep

The proposed site sits within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, land already zoned for industrial use. Compared to building a warehouse on the same site, the project is expected to generate materially less traffic, use less water, generate stronger long-term tax revenue, and support more durable on-site employment.

OpenAI has already been meeting with state and local officials, community leaders, schools, and regional partners, and it's holding a public open house on Thursday, July 23, where residents can meet the project team and ask questions. Feedback from that open house and ongoing conversations will help shape a Georgia Community Compact that turns community priorities into specific commitments with clear accountability measures. The project is planned to be entirely privately funded.

## Wrap-up

- OpenAI's Project Camellia is a large data center project in Effingham County, Georgia, drawing 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power in phases from 2028 to 2032
- No rate increases for residents, and a closed-loop water system keeps water use minimal
- $80 million in community benefits (separate from tax revenue and Codex credits), plus up to $71 million in Codex credits for eligible students
- An annual independent audit will hold the project accountable
- A public open house on Thursday, July 23 will feed into a formal Georgia Community Compact
- Worth watching if you're curious how AI compute buildouts negotiate with host communities, following the earlier Abilene, Texas project