Key facts
- OpenAI plans to spend $750 billion on infrastructure by 2030.
- The company will build a 1,400-acre data center campus, Project Camellia, in Georgia.
- The Georgia facility will draw at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power.
- Georgia Power expects to source most of this new capacity from natural gas.
- OpenAI will receive a 15-year property tax abatement from Effingham County.
OpenAI announced on Wednesday a substantial increase in its infrastructure spending plans, committing $750 billion through 2030. This represents a 25% rise from earlier estimates, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company's renewed investment push comes as its ambitious 'Stargate' data center project appears to be stalled.
The initial phase of this spending spree involves a $20 billion data center campus in Georgia, dubbed Project Camellia. This development will cover 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah and is expected to draw a minimum of 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power, the regional utility. The power capacity is anticipated to be available between 2028 and 2032.
OpenAI has stated it will cover all infrastructure and electricity costs for the new data center. A rule adopted by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) last year prevents utilities from passing on costs associated with new users drawing over 100 megawatts. Additionally, OpenAI has agreed to reduce its power consumption by up to 1 gigawatt during peak grid demand periods.
Effingham County has granted OpenAI a 50% property tax abatement for 15 years for the project, as reported by the Effingham Herald. Specifics on the power source for Project Camellia have not been disclosed by either OpenAI or Georgia Power.
Regulatory filings indicate Georgia Power received approval in December to generate an additional 9,885 megawatts, with most of this new capacity expected to come from natural gas. The utility plans to build or contract approximately 5.8 gigawatts of natural gas generating capacity, with about a quarter from simple-cycle turbines, more than doubling its natural gas fleet. The remainder will be sourced from grid-scale batteries and solar power.
While electricity from Georgia Power is slated to begin in 2028, OpenAI has not provided a timeline for when its first GPUs will be operational. The company has hired Brett Mayo, formerly of xAI, to lead data center construction, suggesting a potentially faster timeline. Mayo previously managed xAI's Colossus data center, which faced lawsuits from the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center over alleged air quality impacts due to unpermitted natural gas turbines.