SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – OpenAI is holding a public open house Thursday evening at the Effingham College and Career Academy, one day after announcing a $20 billion data center campus planned for the county.
SEE: OpenAI announces plans for a new data center campus in Effingham County
The event, running from 6 to 8 p.m., features small group sessions, information tables and recruiters available to speak with the public.
What OpenAI is proposing
OpenAI says the project, called “Project Camellia,” would be a long-term data center campus in Effingham County expected to create at least 400 long-term jobs. The company is behind ChatGPT, and Project Camellia represents its first official step into Georgia.
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The company says it plans to establish a “Georgia Community Compact” with an annual independent audit to hold the project accountable. However, when asked, an OpenAI team member did not confirm who would conduct that audit.
State involvement and regulatory concerns
Public Service Commissioner Alicia Johnson said the issue with data centers is that there was not enough regulation in place during a period of exponential growth in the state. She said there is no official state registry tracking how many data centers currently operate in Georgia, though more than a hundred are spread across the state.
Georgia’s first data center was launched by Google in 2007. It took 18 more years before the first center dedicated to artificial intelligence was built. Dozens more are currently under construction or in development.
Governor Brian Kemp met with OpenAI representatives in May in a closed-door meeting. The Effingham Industrial Development Authority CEO said talks with OpenAI began in November of last year.
Tax exemptions
Another dimension of the state’s relationship with data centers involves tax exemptions. According to Georgia’s latest tax expenditure report, data centers are estimated to receive $2.985 billion in tax exemptions for fiscal year 2027. In the same report, universities across the state estimate $125 million in sales tax exemptions.
Local leadership responds
Effingham IDA CEO Brandt Herndon said the project includes the safeguards that Commissioner Johnson described as necessary for a healthy partnership.
“This is not the data center of old, this is newer technology, they’ve learned from their mistakes of the past to mitigate it and we as a community, as leadership, were not going to accept anything other than the best technology to make sure this is the right fit for this community,” Herndon said.
Warnock calls to protect local communities from data centers
U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock calls for stronger protections for Georgia communities impacted by the rapid growth of data centers as new construction places increasing demands on the state’s water supplies.
In a new letter, Senator Warnock called on the Environmental Protection Agency to issue guidance on helping communities protect the long-term availability of safe, clean water amid the explosion of data center construction.
“Small, rural communities have been left to negotiate on their own with multi-million-dollar corporations whose well-staffed legal teams may negotiate dozens of deals at a time,” wrote Senator Warnock. “It is past time for the EPA to stand up on the side of our families, communities, and local municipalities as they navigate this new landscape.”
Resident concerns
Some residents raised concerns online that OpenAI will not hold to its commitments once the campus is established. Community members have also expressed reservations about financial strain, noise and water usage tied to the project.
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