与埃芬汉县社区共建AI基础设施

山茶花项目是OpenAI正在佐治亚州埃芬汉县设计和开发的一项长期数据中心项目。为支持该数据中心，我们正与佐治亚电力公司签订合同，采购3.2吉瓦电力，将于2028年至2032年间分阶段交付。

我们很高兴有机会与当地社区合作。同时我们也认识到，新的数据中心项目可能引发重要问题，因此我们概述了初步承诺，这些承诺将指导我们如何参与、开发和运营。

**1. 居民电费不会因该项目上涨。**佐治亚家庭不会补贴该项目。OpenAI将承担为其服务所需的基础设施和电力服务费用的全部成本。根据佐治亚州公共服务委员会的规定，这些成本不能转嫁给现有用户。此外，该项目将是首批设计为在高需求时期主动降低用电量、优先于居民用户受影响的数据中心之一，从而切实支持佐治亚电力公司电力系统的可靠性，并惠及我们的邻居。

**2. 用水量极低。**该项目将采用闭环水系统，循环用水而非持续取水和排水。其工作原理类似汽车散热器，旨在保持持续低用水量。所用之水不会从当地社区分流，日常用水需求将用于普通工作场所环境，如卫生间、厨房、卫生清洁和维护，与拥有同等员工数量的办公楼类似。

**3. 我们致力于确保当地社区受益。**OpenAI将在项目生命周期内提供8000万美元的社区福利，这些福利将根据社区意见确定，并用于当地优先事项，如学校、公共安全、医疗保健、公用事业、劳动力培训、住房、退伍军人服务，以及支持小企业和工薪家庭。此项承诺独立于预计税收收入和下文所述的Codex积分。我们将支付数亿美元的州和地方税收，预计将成为该县最大的纳税人。该项目将创造数千个建筑和长期现场工作岗位，并优先考虑本地承包商和企业。

除8000万美元社区福利外，我们还将为符合条件的佐治亚大学、社区学院和技术学校学生提供高达7100万美元的Codex积分。Codex是OpenAI的智能编码工具，现已在ChatGPT中可用，可帮助人们构建软件和完成技术项目。符合条件的学生将通过其ChatGPT账户获得100美元积分，以扩展Codex的使用，获得智能AI的实践经验，构建项目，并培养工程、制造、医疗保健、教育、创业和技能行业等职业的实用技能。佐治亚学生可在chatgpt.com/codex/georgia-college-students/⁠（在新窗口中打开）获取免费Codex积分。

**4. 承担责任。**为确保项目履行这些承诺，将由独立公司进行年度公开审计并发布报告。

我们一直在与州和地方官员、社区领袖、学校及其他区域合作伙伴会面，了解当地优先事项并收集项目反馈。7月23日（星期四），我们将举办公众开放日，居民可与项目团队会面、提问，并帮助塑造项目为埃芬汉县带来的成果。开放日的意见以及与居民、地方官员、学校、企业和社区组织的持续对话，将有助于制定佐治亚社区契约，以铭记这些承诺。该契约将随着项目进展，将社区优先事项转化为具体承诺和明确的问责措施。

我们相信，尽早参与是建立信任的正确方式，因此我们仍处于开发过程的初期。在基础设施、项目分期、设计、融资和运营模式方面仍有大量工作要做。在推进这些细节时，我们计划与当地社区、政府、劳动力组织以及我们的基础设施和融资合作伙伴保持互动。

拟议选址位于萨凡纳门户工业中心，这是一个预先存在的工业区仓库项目。预计该项目产生的交通量将远低于同一地点的仓库项目，同时用水更少，创造更强劲的长期税收收入，并支持更持久的现场就业。

AI可以加速科学和医学发展，扩大学习和发现工具的获取渠道，创造新型就业和商业机会，并提高日常工作效率。计算基础设施是决定AI改进速度、运行可靠性以及应用广泛性的主要因素之一。

在美国建设此类基础设施可加强国内产业，创造优质就业机会，并有助于确保美国社区参与AI带来的经济机遇。山茶花项目有助于奠定这一基础，同时在埃芬汉县和佐治亚州东南部创造持久机遇，且将完全由私人资助。

我们已在德克萨斯州阿比林⁠（在新窗口中打开）看到这一潜力初具规模，我们的首个园区正在那里大规模运营，训练前沿模型，并支持数千个工作岗位。

前方仍有大量工作，我们将随着计划推进分享更多信息。有关该项目的最新信息，请访问www.projectcamellia.com⁠（在新窗口中打开）。

Project Camellia is a long-term datacenter project that OpenAI is designing and developing in Effingham County, Georgia. To support the data center, we are contracting with Georgia Power Company for 3.2 gigawatts of power which will be delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032.

We’re excited about the opportunity to work with this community. We also recognize that new data center projects can raise important questions, so we’ve outlined our initial commitments that will guide how we engage, develop, and operate.

**1. Electricity rates will not go up for residents because of this project.**Georgia families will not subsidize this project. OpenAI will pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric-service costs required to serve it. Under Georgia Public Service Commission rules, those costs cannot be passed on to existing ratepayers. Also, this project will be one of the first data centers designed to proactively reduce its power consumption before residential customers are impacted during periods of high demand, so we can meaningfully support the reliability of Georgia Power’s electric system and support our neighbors.

**2. Water use is minimal.**The project will use a closed-loop water system, which recirculates water rather than continuously withdrawing and discharging. It works like a car radiator and is intended to keep ongoing water use low. The water used will not divert water from local communities and the ongoing water needs will be for people to use in an ordinary workplace setting such as restrooms, kitchens, sanitation, and maintenance and will be similar to an office building with the same amount of employees.

**3. We are committed to making sure local communities benefit.**OpenAI will provide $80 million in community benefits over the life of the project, informed by the community and directed toward local priorities such as schools, public safety, health care, utilities, workforce training, housing, veterans’ services, and support for small businesses and working families. This commitment is separate from projected tax revenue and the Codex credits described below. We will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue and expect to be the largest taxpayer in the county. The project will create thousands of construction and permanent on-site jobs and prioritize local contractors and businesses.

In addition to the $80 million in community benefits, we will make up to $71 million in credits for Codex available to eligible Georgia college, community college, and technical school students. Codex is OpenAI’s agentic coding tool, now available within ChatGPT, that helps people build software and complete technical projects. Eligible students will receive $100 in credits through their ChatGPT accounts to extend their use of Codex, gain hands-on experience with agentic AI, build projects, and develop practical skills for careers across engineering, manufacturing, health care, education, entrepreneurship, and the skilled trades. Georgia students will be able to access their free Codex credits at chatgpt.com/codex/georgia-college-students/⁠(opens in a new window)

**4. Being accountable.**To help ensure the project meets these commitments, an annual publicly available audit by an independent firm will be conducted and released.

We have been meeting with state and local officials, community leaders, schools, and other regional partners to learn about local priorities and gather feedback on the project. On Thursday, July 23, we will hold a public open house where residents can meet the project team, ask questions, and help shape how the project delivers for Effingham County. Input from the open house and continued conversations with residents, local officials, schools, businesses, and community organizations will help shape a Georgia Community Compact to memorialize these commitments. The Compact will translate community priorities into specific commitments and clear accountability measures as the project develops.

We believe showing up early is the right way to build trust, with that, we are still at the beginning of the development process. Significant work remains on infrastructure, project phasing, design, financing, and operating model. As we work through these details, we intend to engage with local communities, government, workforce organizations, and our infrastructure and financing partners.

The proposed site is located within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, a pre-existing industrially-zoned warehouse project. This project is expected to generate materially less traffic than a warehouse project on the same site, while also using less water, creating stronger long-term tax revenue, and supporting more durable on-site employment.

AI can help accelerate science and medicine, expand access to better tools for learning and discovery, create new kinds of jobs and businesses, and make everyday work more productive. Computing infrastructure is one of the main factors determining how quickly AI can improve, how reliably it works, and how broadly it can be used.

Building this infrastructure in the United States strengthens domestic industry, creates good jobs, and helps ensure American communities participate in the economic opportunity created by AI. Project Camellia can help build that foundation while creating lasting opportunity in Effingham County and Southeast Georgia, and would be entirely privately funded.

We are already seeing that potential take shape in Abilene, Texas⁠(opens in a new window), where our first campus is operating at scale, training frontier models, and supporting thousands of jobs.

There is significant work ahead, and we will share more information as the plans develop. For the latest information on the project, please visit www.projectcamellia.com⁠(opens in a new window).