Data Center Census Near me

Project Camellia

Rincon, Effingham County, GA[8][11]Developer: OpenAI[8]

Also known as OpenAI Effingham County data center

Proposed[8]State DRI review completed; county site plan consideration postponed at developer request while county drafts conditional-use rules
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating

OpenAI plans a $20 billion, 3.2 GW data center campus in the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub outside Rincon, with four buildings totaling 4.4 million square feet and power from Georgia Power delivered in phases from 2028 to 2032. The project completed Georgia's Development of Regional Impact review in September 2026, but county site plan consideration was postponed. It has drawn large public opposition over secrecy, power costs and environmental impacts.

Stated investment
$20 billion[2]
Permanent jobs (promised)
400
full-time at full completion
Water use
30,000 gal/day
approximately, per DRI report

Key facts

Size & schedule

Planned capacity3.21 GW [5]
peak electrical load from Georgia Power per DRI report; OpenAI cites 3.2 GW
Site size1,400 acres [5]
per DRI report; earlier reporting described a 2,600-acre campus [2]
Floor area4.4 million sq ft [5]
total across four buildings
Buildings4 [5]
Stated investment$20 billion [2]
Permanent jobs (promised)400 [5]
full-time at full completion
Target completionPower delivered in phases 2028-2032 [1]

How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.

Power

UtilityGeorgia Power [1]
Utility pages: Georgia Power · data centers and bills
On-site generation typediesel backup only (on-site emergency diesel generators; no regular on-site generation anticipated) [5]
Source excerpt
“Aside from on-site emergency backup diesel generators, the applicant stated it does not anticipate regular on-site power generation.”

Water

Water use30,000 gal/day [5]
approximately, per DRI report
Water sourceEffingham County Water Treatment Plant, without line extensions [5]
Source excerpt
“The campus plans to utilize a closed-loop cooling system to minimize water loss, served by the Effingham County Water Treatment Plant without requiring line extensions.”
Coolingclosed-loop [1]

Money & incentives

Tax incentives50% property tax abatement for 15 years; $80 million in community benefits [2]
Tax abatement value$900 million [8]
"nearly $900 million" as stated in the complaint filed by One Hundred Miles and residents
Source excerpt
“According to the lawsuit, it would be the largest data center in the Southeast and comes with nearly $900 million in tax abatements.”
Payments / community benefitsIDA PILOT assesses the OpenAI affiliate at 25% of fair market value instead of the standard 40% for the first 15 years of each project phase [6]
WTOC describes this as a 37.5% annual reduction, which differs from the 50% abatement figure in the record's existing tax_incentive entry
Source excerpt
“While standard property taxes in Georgia are calculated based on 40% of a property's fair market value, this special formula assesses the OpenAI affiliate at just 25%. The discount effectively slashes OpenAI's property taxes by 37.5% annually for the first 15 years of each project phase.”
Payments / community benefitsAmended PILOT fixes the rate at 32 mills for the 15-year payment period; separate agreement sends $21 million to the county and $9 million to the school district, with up to $90 million over three years for infrastructure and economic development [7]
approved by the Effingham IDA at an Aug. 31 special called meeting
Source excerpt
“The amendment replaces that fluctuating rate with a fixed rate of 32 mills for the project's 15-year payment period.”

Local decisions & site

ZoningSite plan approval requested for three parcels zoned industrial and planned development [5]
Source excerpt
“Developer Octans GA LLC is requesting site plan approval to construct four buildings totaling 4.4 million square feet across three parcels currently zoned for industrial and planned development.”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Water and power

Water

Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.

Power

Planned capacity3.21 GW [5]
UtilityGeorgia Power [1]

Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →

Lawsuits

One Hundred Miles, Inc. et al. v. Effingham County Industrial Development Authority and Octans GApending [8]
A conservation group and five residents, represented by SELC, allege the IDA violated Georgia's Open Meetings and Open Records Acts in approving the OpenAI affiliate's tax abatement and land deal, and seek to void those agreements.
Effingham County Superior Court · filed Sep 21, 2026
Source excerpt
“A conservation group and five Effingham County residents are suing local officials, saying they broke Georgia's open government laws to secretly push through a massive OpenAI data center deal. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Effingham County Superior Court, names the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority and Octans GA, an OpenAI affiliate, as defendants.”
Residents’ challenge to Effingham County Ordinance 2026-352pending [10]
Three residents ask the court to throw out the zoning ordinance and stop the county from using it unless the required zoning procedures are followed; the suit does not ask the court to stop Project Camellia.
Effingham County Superior Court · filed Sep 2, 2026
Source excerpt
“The complaint, filed Sept. 2 in Effingham County Superior Court, challenges Ordinance 2026-352, which county commissioners gave final approval Aug. 4.”

Timeline

  1. OpenAI first contacts Effingham Industrial Development Authority (fall 2025) [4]

  2. Effingham County Industrial Development Authority signs a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI affiliate Octans GA, LLC [6]

  3. OpenAI publicly announces Project Camellia [1]

  4. Nearly 1,000 people attend public open house in Rincon, most opposing [3]

  5. Development of Regional Impact (DRI) form submitted to state [4]

  6. Effingham County commissioners approve Ordinance 2026-352 permitting data centers in industrial zones [9]

  7. Three Effingham County residents sue in Effingham County Superior Court to throw out Ordinance 2026-352, the zoning change that paved the way for the project; the Effingham Herald reports the suit does not ask the court to stop Project Camellia [10]

  8. Coastal Regional Commission's full DRI report released; county site plan consideration postponed at developer request [5]

  9. One Hundred Miles and five residents sue the Effingham IDA and Octans GA alleging open-government law violations [8]

  10. Effingham County commissioners vote unanimously to contract Charles Abbott Associates for Phase 1 plan review, inspection and permitting services; the chairman recuses because he works for Georgia Power [11]

Issues raised

  • Residents objected to deal being negotiated without public input; petitions against the project gathered over 10,000 signatures [3][4]
  • Residents raised concerns about noise, light pollution, traffic, environmental impacts and electricity costs [3]
  • DRI report notes portions of the site in the 100-year floodplain, wetlands, and state-protected Hooded Pitcherplant [5]

Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.

Sources

  1. Building AI infrastructure with the Effingham County community
    OpenAI · Jul 22, 2026 · company
  2. $20 billion OpenAI data center to open in Effingham County
    The Current · Jul 22, 2026 · news
  3. OpenAI data center project sparks outrage among Effingham County residents
    The Current · Jul 24, 2026 · news
  4. As Effingham County data center plan advances, next step is state evaluation process
    The Current · Jul 25, 2026 · news
  5. State reveals full DRI report on OpenAI's Effingham County data center project
    WTOC · Sep 16, 2026 · news
  6. Records show Effingham County leaders finalized massive tax break for $20B OpenAI data center day before public announcement
    WTOC · Jul 30, 2026 · news
  7. Effingham Industrial Authority Approves OpenAI Tax Relief, $90M Deal
    Effingham Herald · Aug 31, 2026 · news
  8. Georgia group sues over OpenAI data center deal in Effingham County
    WTOC · Sep 21, 2026 · news
  9. Second Lawsuit Targets Effingham IDA Over OpenAI Data Center
    Effingham Herald · Sep 2026 · news
  10. Effingham County Residents Sue Over Data Center Zoning Change
    Effingham Herald · news
  11. Oct. 21: County commissioners voted to move forward on data center; contractor hired for phase 1
    Savannah Business Journal · Oct 21, 2026 · news

Cite this page

Last updated Oct 25, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.

APAData Center Census. (2026). Project Camellia. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-camellia-effingham-county-ga
MLA“Project Camellia.” Data Center Census, Oct 25, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-camellia-effingham-county-ga.
Linkhttps://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-camellia-effingham-county-ga

Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.