A vote to approve or deny site plans for the proposed data center in Effingham County has been cancelled. Effingham County announced Monday afternoon on their Facebook page that the applicant requested to postpone the consideration, but did not state why.
According to the meeting's agenda, the site will feature two 35-foot-tall data center buildings, a 100,000-square-foot warehouse, a 75,000-square-foot operations building and substations to support electrical demand.
A Development of Regional Impact report or DRI, related to the project raises concerns over power, water and the environment.
According to the meeting agenda, the site where the data center will be located was rezoned from PD (planned development) to Industrial Oct. 2, 2012.
OpenAI
says it will invest $20 billion to build a campus that will be home to the artificial intelligence infrastructure on 1,400 acres in Rincon.
Here are three areas of concern among environmental experts in the region.
Power
According to the DRI report, Octans Ga LLC, who is listed as the developer for the data center, says there is enough energy supply available to serve the site. Electrical generation facilities are not expected to be on the site.
One Hundred Miles, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting the environment along Georgia's coast, has questions as to where the backup power will come from.
"The operational 'flexibility' during peak demand hours does not have any specific details provided for grid resilience with Georgia Power and whether this development will be used to offset lost capacity at other facilities during their peak demand hours," they wrote in a letter to the Coastal Regional Commission (CRC).
According to a press release from Georgia Power, the contract with OpenAI was filed with the Public Service Commission in July and includes 3,200 megawatts of new demand.
"OpenAI will pay the full cost of the infrastructure needed to serve it and has committed up to 1,000 MW of flexible demand response, which enables Georgia Power to reduce energy delivered to the facility during periods of high demand and invest in fewer new generation resources to serve future growth," the press release states.
Kim Greene, chief operating officer, president and chairman of Georgia Power, said in the press release that every contract signed with a data center is designed so that they deliver affordable energy to their customers.
“Data centers are paying more so families and small businesses can pay less, and our goal with every contract we sign under this framework is to deliver value for them,” added Greene.
But One Hundred Miles said the amount of electricity needed to provide energy to the site would "rival" that of a large metropolitan region, similar to the city of Atlanta, "and would consume approximately two-thirds of thegeneration capacity of the four reactors at Plant Vogtle."
Johnny Stutzman, wildlife biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, added that, "The projected energy demands of this facility have been estimated to be similar to powering over 2 million new homes."
Environmental
Stutzman recommends security fences around the site that include large holes for animals to pass through or smaller gaps at the bottom of the fences to allow smaller animals to navigate through.
"To protect aquatic habitats and water quality, we recommend that all machinery be kept out ofstreams and other bodies of water," he wrote in a letter to CRC. "Further, we strongly advocate leaving vegetation intact within 100 feet of streams, which will reduce inputs of sediments, assist with maintaining streambankintegrity, and provide shade and habitat for aquatic species. Please be aware that the type of erosioncontrol and/or soil stabilization material used during construction can impact wildlife."
Stutzman also suggested very specific guidance for deer, saying "deer-friendly" fencing would lessen the chance of death for the four-legged animals and wrought iron fencing in the metro-Atlanta area causes between 60 and 100 deer deaths per year.
"Security fencing that incorporates barbed wire can also cause injury when scaled," he wrote. "Most animals caught in fencing, regardless of the fencing type, either die or must be euthanized."
Water
Savannah Riverkeeper is stressing the significance of mitigation as well as ensuring proper stormwater runoff to reduce the potential risk of flooding not only to local neighbors, but into the Savannah River.
County maps indicate several large swaths of land on the site are in the FEMA Zone A and AE floodplain.
According to a letter dated Aug. 26 by the city of Savannah to CRC, staff has agreed to deliver water to the site until 2030 through surface water and the site's needs would be handled thereafter by the Effingham County surface water treatment plant.
Cloe Lemaire, Lower Savannah River Coordinator - Savannah Riverkeeper, questions whether the region's water supply is adequate for the proposed operations.
"Officials must ensure the facility relies strictly on treated surface water, never local groundwater, and thatannual independent audits of actual water usage are made public and that wastewater treatment is monitored closely," said Lemaire in a letter addressed to CRC and the Effingham County commissioners. "Officials must also explain how those withdrawals could affect potable water supplies in a county already strained by major industrial users, such as Hyundai."
What's next?
A spokesperson for OpenAI said the data center could come online in 2028 and phased developments will continue through 2032. However, the details of that schedule, including construction dates, the number of those phases and workforce hiring are dependent upon required approvals, among other things. In addition, OpenAI says it has received interest from 200 vendors and suppliers across various industries, including companies at the local level who have shown interest in helping construct the data center.
“Site planning will establish how much of the property is developed, the campus layout, and the supporting utility and transportation improvements," said a spokesperson for OpenAI. "We’re coordinating with local officials and utilities and will meet applicable permitting and environmental requirements. We’ll share detailed plans, renderings, and information about construction partners and opportunities as they become available."
Want to attend the meeting?
The Effingham County Commissioner meeting will take place at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Springfield at the county complex building on North Laurel Street.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Concerns mount as OpenAI data center vote delayed
