GUYTON, Ga. — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., came home to coastal Georgia Friday to visit the proposed site of OpenAI’s $20 billion Project Camellia in Effingham County — and called for a moratorium on data center development until residents have a meaningful voice in whether such projects are built in their communities. Warnock, who grew up in nearby Savannah and has family ties to Effingham County, also said data centers should not be allowed to move forward unless developers can guarantee they will not drive up residents’ water or electric bills, pollute the air or water, create unresolved noise and light problems, or make deals behind closed doors. “Only when a data center developer can make guarantees on utility rates, on pollution, and transparency should they be allowed to build,” Warnock said. His visit comes as opposition to Project Camellia has grown among many Effingham residents who say they were left out of the process that led to the project. The proposed 1,400-acre campus in the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub will require 3.2 gigawatts – enough electricity to power roughly three Atlanta-sized cities, making it one of the largest data centers in the Southeast. Warnock said he is not opposed to artificial intelligence or data centers. He is opposed to communities being asked to accept multibillion-dollar developments without having a meaningful voice in the process. “This is not OpenAI County. This is Effingham County,” Warnock said. Warnock also made clear…
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