OpenAI plans to spend $750 billion on infrastructure through 2030, a 25% increase from its earlier estimate, according to The Wall Street Journal. This announcement arrives while the Stargate data center project appears to have stalled.
Project Camellia
The initial phase involves a $20 billion campus in Georgia called Project Camellia. The site covers 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah and will consume at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power. Utility capacity is expected between 2028 and 2032.
OpenAI confirmed it will cover all infrastructure and electric service costs. This arrangement follows a rule adopted by the Georgia Public Service Commission last year, which prevents utilities from passing costs to new users drawing more than 100 megawatts.
Georgia Power stated OpenAI will reduce its power draw by up to 1 gigawatt during periods of high grid demand. The company also receives a 50% property tax abatement for 15 years from Effingham County, the Effingham Herald reported.
Neither OpenAI nor Georgia Power has specified how Project Camellia will be powered. TechCrunch requested details from both but received no immediate reply.
Power sources
Regulatory filings offer some insight. In December, Georgia Power received approval from the PSC to add 9,885 megawatts. The utility stated it expects to have all capacity contracted by the end of 2026. The OpenAI deal represents about a third of that total.
Documents filed with the PSC indicate most new capacity will come from natural gas. Georgia Power plans to build or purchase around 5.8 gigawatts from third parties. Approximately a quarter of this will come from simple-cycle turbines, which produce more pollution. Overall, the new fossil fuel capacity will more than double the natural gas fleet. The remainder will be supplied by grid-scale batteries and solar.
Electricity from Georgia Power should begin flowing in 2028. OpenAI did not provide a timeline for when the first GPU will be active. That date could be earlier than 2028 given recent hiring. Brett Mayo leads data center construction. He previously worked at xAI, where he oversaw the Colossus data center in Memphis.
Colossus was built quickly, yet a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center claims it negatively impacted local air quality. The xAI facility reportedly operated dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines, claiming exemption from federal clean air regulations.
What it means
Local communities face increased reliance on fossil fuels for artificial intelligence. The Colossus precedent suggests new facilities may bypass environmental rules to meet construction deadlines.
