OpenAI said Wednesday it will spend $750 billion on AI infrastructure through 2030, a figure 25 percent higher than the company projected earlier this year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The surge in spending comes as the firm’s Stargate data‑center effort appears to have stalled, prompting a new focus on a massive campus in Georgia.
Dubbed Project Camellia, the $20 billion development will occupy 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah. OpenAI plans to secure at least 3.2 gigawatts of electricity from Georgia Power, with the utility committing to reduce the draw by up to 1 gigawatt during periods of high grid demand. The company pledged to cover the full cost of the infrastructure and the associated electric‑service charges.
Georgia’s Public Service Commission adopted a rule last year that bars utilities from passing on costs to customers when new users draw more than 100 megawatts. That rule underpins the deal, which will see Georgia Power deliver power for the data center between 2028 and 2032. While the exact energy mix has not been disclosed, filings indicate most new capacity will come from natural‑gas generators, including a quarter from simple‑cycle turbines that emit higher levels of pollutants. The remainder of the supply is expected to be sourced from grid‑scale batteries and solar installations.
Effingham County will provide OpenAI with a 50 percent property‑tax abatement for 15 years, a move reported by the Effingham Herald. The incentive aims to attract the tech giant to the region and offset the massive capital outlay.
OpenAI has not announced when the first graphics‑processing units will be turned on, but the company’s recent hire of Brett Mayo to lead data‑center construction suggests the timeline could accelerate. Mayo previously oversaw the rapid build of xAI’s Colossus data center in Memphis, a project that faced lawsuits over alleged air‑quality impacts from unpermitted natural‑gas turbines.
Georgia Power recently received approval from the PSC to add 9,885 megawatts of capacity, with most of the new generation slated to be contracted by the end of 2026. OpenAI’s agreement accounts for roughly a third of that expansion, positioning the AI firm as a major new load on the state’s power grid.
Although OpenAI has not detailed how Project Camellia will be powered, the combination of natural‑gas generation, battery storage, and solar suggests a diversified approach. The company’s commitment to pay all infrastructure and electricity costs, coupled with the tax abatement, signals confidence in the long‑term viability of the venture.
Regulators and environmental groups will likely monitor the project closely, given the scale of the power draw and the involvement of fossil‑fuel generation. The outcome could set a precedent for how large‑scale AI compute facilities secure energy in the United States.
Cet article a été rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA.
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