OpenAI has received regulatory approval for a 3.2 gigawatt power agreement intended to supply a planned data center in Effingham County, Georgia. The deal is among the largest single power commitments tied to an AI operator and would require significant grid infrastructure to support. Georgia's utility regulators signed off on the arrangement, clearing a key obstacle for OpenAI's physical infrastructure buildout in the Southeast. The scale of the power commitment reflects the electricity appetite of frontier AI training facilities.
A 3.2 GW approved power deal for a single AI operator in one county is an extraordinary scale event for utility and grid planning, likely requiring new transmission and generation assets. It sets a high-water mark for what AI infrastructure developers are now seeking from regulators and could influence how other states and utilities respond to similarly large requests.
Named company OpenAI, the specific figure of 3.2 GW, and the regulatory green light in Effingham County, Georgia triggered selection. This is a power and grid story distinct from previously published OpenAI data center campus announcements, which focused on Ohio construction; this is a separate Georgia power approval.