SOUTHEAST GA. – OpenAI’s $20 billion planned data center development in Effingham County may have put southeast Georgia on the data center map.
Cities in Bryan, Bulloch, Effingham and Liberty counties are receiving data center development inquiries – some for the first time. A wave of data center moratoriums is now washing over southeast Georgia as local governments scramble to be proactive rather than reactive to the state’s data center boom.
While Georgia’s been a nationwide leader in developing tech facilities for at least a year, southeast Georgian leaders predicted that the region’s water and energy infrastructure would be a barrier to development. Much of southeast Georgia lies in the yellow and red zones, most at risk for saltwater intrusion into the Floridan aquifer. The risk of severe storms and hurricanes along the coast also leaves power grids vulnerable…