OpenAI announced on Wednesday that it plans to spend $750 billion on infrastructure by 2030, which is 25% more than anticipated at the beginning of this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. This new large-scale investment phase begins as the implementation of the Stargate data center project appears to have stalled.
One of the first major projects under this investment program will be a $20 billion data center campus in Georgia, known as Project Camellia. The facility will occupy 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah and will consume at least 3.2 gigawatts of electricity from the regional power company Georgia Power. The necessary power capacities are expected to be operational between 2028-2032.
Financing and regulation
OpenAI stated that “it will pay the full cost of infrastructure and grid connection” for the new data center. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) adopted a rule last year that prohibits power companies from passing on costs related to new customers using more than 100 megawatts of capacity.
Georgia Power also reported that OpenAI will reduce its electricity consumption to 1 gigawatt during peak network load periods. Additionally, OpenAI will receive a 50% property tax exemption for 15 years from Effingham County, according to the Effingham Herald.
Energy sources and environmental issues
Neither OpenAI nor Georgia Power have disclosed the energy sources for Project Camellia. TechCrunch contacted both companies for details but did not receive a response. Regulatory documents may shed light on this issue.
In December, Georgia Power received approval from the PSC to add 9,885 megawatts of generating capacity. The company informed the regulator that it expects all this capacity to be contracted by the end of 2026. The agreement with OpenAI accounts for approximately one-third of this volume.
According to documents submitted by Georgia Power to the PSC, most of the new capacity will be powered by natural gas. The company plans to build or purchase about 5.8 gigawatts of gas-powered generating capacity, approximately a quarter of which will be less efficient simple-cycle gas turbines. This will more than double Georgia Power’s gas-powered generating capacity. The remainder will be provided by industrial battery systems and solar power plants.
Although electricity supply from Georgia Power is expected in 2028, OpenAI has not specified when the data center will begin operations with the first GPUs. This could happen before 2028, considering that OpenAI recently hired Brett Mayo to lead the construction of data centers. Previously, Mayo worked at xAI, where he oversaw the construction of the Colossus data center in Memphis. Colossus was built in record time but allegedly negatively impacted local air quality, according to a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center. The lawsuit also states that the xAI data center operates dozens of gas turbines without the necessary permits, citing an exemption from federal clean air regulations.
Source: TechCrunch
