Georgia Residents Challenge OpenAI’s $20 Billion Data Center Project

Effingham County residents and environmental groups have filed three lawsuits challenging approval of OpenAI’s planned $20 billion data center campus in Georgia, putting local zoning and public-records procedures at issue years before construction is due to begin.

The most recent complaint, filed in early November, names OpenAI, county officials and the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority. The plaintiffs allege conspiracy, fraud and civil racketeering. A court has not ruled on those claims.

The three lawsuits address separate parts of the approval process. One challenges a county zoning ordinance, arguing that data centers allowed on industrial land should require public hearings. Another accuses the authority of violating Georgia’s Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. Plaintiffs in that case point to meetings held under the codename “Project Gateway” and agendas they say changed without advance notice.

Project Camellia is a planned investment by OpenAI and Octans GA LLC. The campus would cover 1,440 acres in the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub near Rincon, with about 4.4 million square feet of facilities and potential power demand of up to 3.2 gigawatts. The plan calls for five phases, with construction scheduled to begin in 2028 and development projected to continue through 2034. Each phase could create at least 80 permanent jobs.

Tax incentives tied to the project are estimated at $870 million to $900 million over 15 years. If a court finds that the authority violated state open-meetings or open-records laws, the incentive package could become a central point of contention. The zoning case could also affect whether future data center proposals on industrial land in the county require public hearings.

OpenAI has also agreed to let Georgia Power reduce the campus’s grid draw by up to 1,000 megawatts during periods of system strain under a separate agreement for the Georgia campus. Construction is scheduled to start in 2028.