OpenAI commits $750B to AI infrastructure, launching $20B Georgia data center

OpenAI has stepped up its infrastructure ambitions, pledging $750 billion in capital expenditure through 2030—a significant uptick from earlier projections announced during the year. The escalation underscores the company's determination to build the computational backbone needed for advanced AI systems, even as some of its existing megaprojects encounter obstacles.

Project Camellia: A $20B Georgia gamble#

The centerpiece of OpenAI's expansion is Project Camellia, a sprawling data center campus slated for construction near Savannah, Georgia. The facility will occupy roughly 1,400 acres and is estimated to cost $20 billion. When operational, it will demand at least 3.2 gigawatts of electrical capacity—roughly equivalent to the power consumption of a mid-sized city—supplied by Georgia Power.

OpenAI has committed to bearing the full infrastructure and electricity costs, sidestepping local utility burden under a rule adopted by Georgia's Public Service Commission in 2025. The company is also negotiating to voluntarily curtail its power usage by up to 1 gigawatt during grid stress periods, and it secured a 50% property tax reduction for 15 years from Effingham County.

Power puzzle: Natural gas and renewables#

The specifics of how Project Camellia will be supplied with electricity remain unclear. However, regulatory filings hint at the answer. Georgia Power received authorization in December to expand capacity by roughly 9,885 megawatts, with the utility expecting to have contracts locked in by end of 2026. OpenAI's allocation accounts for approximately one-third of that expansion.

According to state filings, the utility plans to rely primarily on natural gas for the added supply—building or acquiring about 5.8 gigawatts of gas-fired generation, including a quarter from simple-cycle turbines, which are less efficient and more carbon-intensive. The remainder will come from battery storage and solar installations. Combined, the new fossil fuel capacity will roughly double Georgia Power's existing natural gas fleet.

Timeline and environmental questions#

Though Georgia Power expects to deliver electricity to the region by 2028, OpenAI has not specified when the data center's hardware will come online. Recent hiring suggests rapid progress: the company recruited Brett Mayo, formerly of xAI, to direct data center construction. Mayo oversaw the Colossus facility in Memphis, built at an accelerated pace.