OpenAI to pilot data center program that frees up power during grid emergencies in Georgia
AI company OpenAI has announced a "Grid Protectors Program" that would release up to 1,000 megawatts of power in emergencies. It will be piloted at a planned data center in Georgia, USA.
US artificial intelligence company OpenAI said on Monday it will pilot its "Grid Protectors Program" at an upcoming data center in Effingham County, Georgia. The company promises to free up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity during extreme weather or emergencies, enough to run air conditioners in around 700,000 homes. The move comes as opposition to data centers grows across the United States.
Growing opposition
According to The Verge, local residents often have little or no say in large projects as they are developed and built. In Utah, residents protested after Box Elder County commissioners approved a data center expected to use more than double the state's peak electricity demand in 2025. Protesters also pointed to hot air released into the surrounding desert valley.
Several states, including Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon, have enacted laws meant to prevent AI companies from passing energy costs on to residents, along with moratoriums and other restrictions. A study by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) found that powering proposed Texas data center projects could undo decades of air quality gains within five years.
OpenAI's approach
OpenAI now calls its data centers "compute campuses." It presents the power plants feeding them as a resource utilities can call on when communities need it most. The company argues that its steady year-round demand helps spread the grid's fixed costs across more electricity sales, while flexibility lets it cut demand when the system is busiest.
OpenAI says it will keep working with policymakers and utilities on arrangements to reduce electricity demand when the grid is under strain. Together with Oracle and SoftBank, it is also building "Stargate" data centers across the US, including in Shackelford and Milam counties in Texas and Doña Ana County, New Mexico.
