Effingham County residents protest as $20B data center project moves forward

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Opposition to a proposed OpenAI data center in Effingham County continued Saturday, as residents protested outside the county’s administrative complex in Springfield while commissioners held a work session inside to hear public concerns about the project, known as Project Camellia.

This marks at least the latest in a series of protests over the project since it was announced in July.

The nearly three-hour session covered residents’ questions about noise, water use, electricity demand, emergency services and transparency, and at least one commissioner acknowledged the county could have done more to keep residents informed. Some residents called for a temporary moratorium on future data center projects, an idea commissioners said they’d consider.

Outside the meeting, protesters gathered with signs calling for greater transparency and scrutiny of the project. Residents say there are significant downsides to hosting such centers locally. They point to concerns over water use, noise and increased electricity demand, which they say could affect the local economy.

Zach Springer, an Effingham County resident, said he doesn’t see the technology benefiting the community.

“As it stands, we don’t see AI being used to benefit the people. We don’t see AI being used to help locals. Right now what we see is a bunch of billion-dollar companies all trying to rush massive expansions just to compete with the other AI company,” Springer said.

For some protesters, the debate isn’t just about technology; it’s personal.

Brooke Jarrett, another Effingham County resident, said she has firsthand concerns as an artist.

“I am an artist, so generative AI specifically to me steals intellectual and artistic and creative property that’s been on the internet. It’s the biggest case of plagiarism that’s ever not been cared about, and it directly steals from artists, so I have a personal reason to be upset about it,” Jarrett said.

With the data center still in the development phase, protesters say they plan to continue showing up.