Data Center Registry
Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus)
Rincon, Effingham County, Georgia · All 6 OpenAI sites · Every OpenAI and Oracle case on our tracker
Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) is a proposed data center in Rincon, Georgia (Effingham County), operated by OpenAI. The public record puts it at announced July 22, 2026, 3.2 GW planned, 1,400 acres, a reported $20 billion investment. It is or has been the subject of litigation over its siting, permitting, or operation.
Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.
Facility record
Proposed
- Operator
- OpenAI
- Facility type
- Data center, AI use confirmed
- Location
- Rincon, Effingham County, GA
- Coordinates
- 32.2960, -81.2354 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- 3.2 GW planned
- Land
- 1,400 acres
- Investment
- $20 billion
- Announced
- July 22, 2026
- Utility
- Georgia Power
- Power source
- Grid
- Cooling
- Closed loop
- Water use
- Not established from a public source
- Jobs
- 400 permanent
- Public subsidy
- Property tax abatement (50% for 15 years), Effingham County, GA, 2026
- Community reception
- In litigation
- Source confidence
- Confirmed by multiple independent sources or official documentation
Timeline from the record
Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.
- August 28, 2026CoverageWarnock calls for Georgia data center moratorium · Georgia Recorder
- July 22, 2026ProposedOpenAI and Effingham County announced a four-building campus at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub; a Development of Regional Impact application followed on 2026-07-24. Source: The Current
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) in Rincon, Effingham County, Georgia is or has been the subject of litigation over its siting, permitting, or operation. Three residents, Michelle Finch-Mincey, Lehman Mincey Jr.
How the community has taken it
Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: in litigation means the facility is or has been the subject of a lawsuit related to its siting, permitting, or operation.
Three residents, Michelle Finch-Mincey, Lehman Mincey Jr. and Raymond Carver, sued in Effingham County Superior Court, reported 2026-09-03, seeking to invalidate Ordinance 2026-352 (final approval 2026-08-04), which added data centers to the county's Permitted Use Table for industrially-zoned land. The complaint alleges the required public hearings before the planning board and county commission never occurred.
Power and water
OpenAI contracted 3.2 GW with Georgia Power, to be delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032; the county says power generation is kept offsite and no diesel backup generators are planned post-completion.
County materials describe a closed-loop cooling system drawing treated surface water only, not groundwater or the Floridan aquifer. The DRI form itself left water-use figures blank.
Public money on the record
| Program | Amount | Granted by | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax abatement (50% for 15 years) | Not established | Effingham County, GA | 2026 |
Notes on the record
Four data center buildings on roughly 1,400 acres inside the 2,600-acre Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub near Rincon. Effingham County values the project at $20B; OpenAI's VP of Compute Strategy has said full build-out will exceed $30B. Permanent staffing is described as ~400 at the 2028 opening rising to about 1,000 by 2032. Part of OpenAI's Stargate program.
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) in Rincon?
Yes. Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) in Rincon, Effingham County, Georgia is or has been the subject of litigation over its siting, permitting, or operation. Three residents, Michelle Finch-Mincey, Lehman Mincey Jr.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus)?
Yes. This site is recorded as being in litigation. The case, the court, and the filings we hold are listed on this page under the timeline and the sources.
How much water does Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) use?
No water withdrawal figure for Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus) is on record here. Cooling is recorded as closed_loop, which is the strongest available clue: closed loop and air cooled plant draw far less than evaporative cooling. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.
Who operates Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus), and how big is it?
OpenAI is the operator on record. We hold 6 sites for that company across the registry. Capacity on record is 3.2 GW. The site is recorded at 1400 acres.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Project Camellia (OpenAI Effingham County Campus)," updated September 10, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/openai-project-camellia-effingham-ga.
Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/openai-project-camellia-effingham-ga, retrieved September 14, 2026.
Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.
Sources for this record
As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.
- 1.Project Camellia (OpenAI Data Center), official county project page · Effingham County, Georgia · retrieved August 28, 2026
- 2.$20 billion OpenAI data center to open in Effingham County · The Current · retrieved August 28, 2026
- 3.As Effingham County data center plan advances, next step is state evaluation process · The Current · retrieved August 28, 2026
- 4.OpenAI plans to build its own 3.2 GW data center campus in Georgia · W.Media · retrieved August 28, 2026
- 5.$20 billion OpenAI data center to open in Effingham County · The Current · retrieved September 10, 2026
- 6.Effingham County residents sue county over data center zoning ordinance, demand transparency · WTOC · retrieved September 10, 2026
- 7.Project Camellia (OpenAI) - Effingham County, GA · retrieved September 10, 2026
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