Effingham commissioners postponed the site-plan review for OpenAI's Project Camellia on September 14, and the county planning staff moved to fold data centers into the zoning code as a conditional use with new conditions rather than write a separate ordinance.
The proposed limits would ban on-site gas turbines, cap accessory uses to offices and battery storage, extend the noise ordinance to cover low-frequency hum, and require traffic studies and decommissioning plans. Two days later the Coastal Regional Commission released a 44-page regional review that put the campus at four buildings and 4.4 million square feet on 1,400 acres, drawing a peak 3,210 megawatts from Georgia Power.
That is more electricity than both new units at Plant Vogtle produce together. The report also flagged on-site wetlands, a documented Hooded Pitcherplant colony and land in a flood zone. Commissioners are due to weigh a construction moratorium on October 6, and the state Public Service Commission drew a full house to a Savannah forum on the project on September 15.
Why it matters
The county is trying to set enforceable limits on the largest development in its history before it approves the site plan.
Sources and documents5 sources
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