OpenAI has confirmed plans to build a $20 billion, 4.4-million-square-foot data center campus in Effingham County, Georgia, about 30 minutes from Savannah. The project, announced July 22, 2026, will occupy 1,400 acres within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, an existing industrial park zoned for heavy and light industrial use.
The facility will require 3.2 gigawatts of power, drawing on nearby Georgia Power infrastructure including Plant McIntosh, which is adding a natural gas turbine expected to bring its output to 2.1 gigawatts. As part of the development agreement, OpenAI has committed to returning 1 gigawatt of capacity to the grid during peak demand periods to help offset rate pressure on other Georgia Power customers, a provision made possible because the site will primarily support AI model training rather than continuous cloud computing operations.
Effingham County will exempt the property from its standard tax digest in favor of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement, under which OpenAI will pay 50 percent of the site's appraised value annually for 15 years. County officials say the agreement is projected to help lower property tax burdens for homeowners and reduce school district millage rates. The development agreement requires OpenAI to employ at least 400 workers at an average wage of $80,000, with company officials indicating the eventual headcount could exceed 1,000.
The project has drawn public opposition since its announcement, with more than 100 residents demonstrating outside a company open house on July 23. Effingham County submitted the second part of its state-mandated Development of Regional Impact review on July 29, a process expected to take about 45 days. OpenAI intends to begin construction in early 2027.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/08/openai-in-georgia-how-20b-data-center-plan-secretly-took-root-in-effingham/