OpenAI's $20B Georgia data center will not raise local electricity bills, the company said, as it tries to avoid backlash that has blocked 75 other projects.
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OpenAI on Wednesday unveiled plans for Project Camellia, a $20 billion data center campus in rural Effingham County, Georgia, that it said will not raise local electricity bills. The ChatGPT maker is trying to head off the kind of community opposition that has stalled dozens of AI infrastructure projects across the country.
The campus, just outside Savannah, will require 3.2 gigawatts of power delivered by Georgia Power in phases between 2028 and 2032. OpenAI said it has been meeting with state and local officials, community leaders, and schools to gather feedback. A public open house is scheduled for Thursday.
Effingham County Commissioner Jamie DeLoach said in a statement that his team asked tough questions and concluded the project uses minimal water, will not increase energy costs for residents, and will generate new tax revenue to support schools.
OpenAI rolled out a four-point pledge addressing electricity costs, water use, and community impacts. The company said local residents will not see higher bills because of the project. Its facility will use a closed-loop water system, keeping water consumption minimal. OpenAI also said it will proactively reduce power consumption before residential customers are affected during periods of high demand.
Georgia families will not subsidize the project, the company said. OpenAI will pay the full cost of infrastructure and electric-service costs. It also committed $80 million in community benefits over the project's life and up to $71 million in Codex credits for eligible Georgia college and technical school students.
An independent firm will conduct an annual audit of OpenAI's commitments, the company said. The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and more than 1,000 operational roles once built out.
The announcement comes as communities across the U.S. push back against data center proposals. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the challenge earlier this year, saying data centers are getting blamed for electricity price hikes. According to Data Center Watch, at least 75 data center proposals worth an estimated $130 billion were delayed or blocked in the first three months of 2026 due to local opposition. As of May, more than 430 local Facebook groups with over 525,000 members were fighting AI data centers, per the Data Center Opposition Report.
Georgia's 12th Congressional District Democratic Committee issued an urgent call to action on Facebook, urging residents to attend Thursday's public meeting. Earlier this month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order imposing the nation's first statewide moratorium on large-scale data centers.
OpenAI said it is still at the beginning of the development process, with significant work remaining on infrastructure, phasing, and financing.
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