Project Camellia data center, Rincon, Georgia

As of September 22, Effingham County commissioners had not approved the site plan for OpenAI's proposed Project Camellia near Rincon. The plan calls for four buildings totaling 4.4 million square feet on a roughly 1,400-acre site within Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, with construction phased from 2028. The state review estimates 3,210 megawatts of peak electric demand, close to the 3.2-gigawatt supply announced by OpenAI and Georgia Power.

The county development authority approved a deal giving OpenAI a 50% property-tax abatement for 15 years. County and company officials project 400 long-term jobs and say OpenAI will provide $80 million for community programs; these are forecasts and commitments, not benefits already delivered. Residents have questioned the water and power demands and how little notice they received before the project was announced in July.

Two lawsuits challenge the local approval process. The later case, brought by residents and the environmental group One Hundred Miles, alleges that the development authority listed its July meeting item as 'Project Gateway' without identifying OpenAI or the tax deal, then rescheduled that meeting without the legally required notice. An earlier suit by three residents challenges the county's August change allowing data centers on industrial land, alleging it passed without required public hearings; both cases were pending in state court as of September 22.

The regional-impact review projects about 30,000 gallons of daily water use with a system that recycles cooling water, but it also identifies wetlands, flood-prone land and a state-protected plant on the site. Savannah Riverkeeper has asked for binding assurances that the campus will use treated surface water rather than groundwater. The state review does not approve the project; county commissioners postponed site-plan consideration at the developer's request while drafting stricter rules and had not announced a new decision date as of September 16.