HomeOpenAI’s AI spending surge hits $750B
OpenAI disclosed on Wednesday plans to invest $750 billion in infrastructure by 2030, a 25% increase from its earlier estimate this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The push comes as its Stargate data center project appears to have paused.
The first major expenditure in OpenAI's investment surge will be a $20 billion data center campus in Georgia, called Project Camellia. The site spans 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah and will require at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power, the local utility. This capacity is expected to come online between 2028 and 2032.
OpenAI stated it will "pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric-service costs" for the new data center. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) enacted a rule last year that prohibits utilities from transferring costs related to new users consuming over 100 megawatts.
Georgia Power also noted that OpenAI will cut its power usage by up to 1 gigawatt during peak demand on the grid.
According to the Effingham Herald, OpenAI will receive a 50% property tax reduction for 15 years from Effingham County.
Neither OpenAI nor Georgia Power has disclosed how Project Camellia will be powered. TechCrunch reached out to both companies for details but did not receive an immediate response.
Regulatory filings may offer some hints. In December, Georgia Power secured approval from the PSC to add 9,885 megawatts of capacity. The utility informed the PSC that it expects to have all that capacity contracted by the end of 2026. The OpenAI deal represents roughly one-third of that total.
According to documents Georgia Power submitted to the PSC, most of the new capacity will be sourced from natural gas. The utility plans to build or purchase about 5.8 gigawatts of natural gas generating capacity, with roughly a quarter coming from more polluting simple-cycle turbines. Overall, this new fossil fuel capacity will more than double Georgia Power's existing natural gas fleet. The remaining capacity will come from grid-scale batteries and solar.
Although electricity from Georgia Power is expected to begin flowing in 2028, OpenAI has not provided a timeline for when the first GPU will come online. That could happen before 2028, especially since OpenAI recently hired Brett Mayo to lead data center construction. Mayo previously worked at xAI, where he oversaw the Colossus data center in Memphis.
Colossus was constructed in record time, but a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center alleges it has negatively impacted local air quality. The xAI data center has been operating dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines, claiming an exemption from federal clean air regulations.
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OpenAI disclosed on Wednesday plans to invest $750 billion in infrastructure by 2030, a 25% increase from its earlier estimate this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The push comes as its Stargate data center project appears to have paused.
The first major expenditure in OpenAI's investment surge will be a $20 billion data center campus in Georgia, called Project Camellia. The site spans 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah and will require at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power, the local utility. This capacity is expected to come online between 2028 and 2032.
OpenAI stated it will "pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric-service costs" for the new data center. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) enacted a rule last year that prohibits utilities from transferring costs related to new users consuming over 100 megawatts.
Georgia Power also noted that OpenAI will cut its power usage by up to 1 gigawatt during peak demand on the grid.
According to the Effingham Herald, OpenAI will receive a 50% property tax reduction for 15 years from Effingham County.
Neither OpenAI nor Georgia Power has disclosed how Project Camellia will be powered. TechCrunch reached out to both companies for details but did not receive an immediate response.
Regulatory filings may offer some hints. In December, Georgia Power secured approval from the PSC to add 9,885 megawatts of capacity. The utility informed the PSC that it expects to have all that capacity contracted by the end of 2026. The OpenAI deal represents roughly one-third of that total.
According to documents Georgia Power submitted to the PSC, most of the new capacity will be sourced from natural gas. The utility plans to build or purchase about 5.8 gigawatts of natural gas generating capacity, with roughly a quarter coming from more polluting simple-cycle turbines. Overall, this new fossil fuel capacity will more than double Georgia Power's existing natural gas fleet. The remaining capacity will come from grid-scale batteries and solar.
Although electricity from Georgia Power is expected to begin flowing in 2028, OpenAI has not provided a timeline for when the first GPU will come online. That could happen before 2028, especially since OpenAI recently hired Brett Mayo to lead data center construction. Mayo previously worked at xAI, where he oversaw the Colossus data center in Memphis.
Colossus was constructed in record time, but a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center alleges it has negatively impacted local air quality. The xAI data center has been operating dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines, claiming an exemption from federal clean air regulations.
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