Why here?
A useful site can combine power, land, water, fiber, and timing. An advantage matters only if the project actually needs it.
Ask “What can this site deliver that your other realistic options cannot?”
Community field guide
A data center is coming. What should your community ask?
Clear questions. Real protections. A practical place to start when a large data center is proposed near you.
On this page
Start with three questions.
A useful deal starts with evidence about the site, the decision, and the people behind the project.
Who controls what?
Residents, landowners, local governments, utilities, regulators, and Tribal governments have different roles. Identify the authorized party for each decision.
Ask “Which specific asset, agreement, or approval do you need, and who controls it?”
Is it ready?
A proposal needs credible land control, financing, an operator, and a utility path. A strong site alone does not make a funded project.
Ask “What evidence supports your financing, operator commitment, and service date?”
Keep three different conversations separate
- Rules and protections: legally supportable requirements for project impacts and public health.
- Commercial terms: terms for land, utility service, or authorized discretionary incentives.
- Community benefits: separately negotiated commitments through a capable, authorized party.
Putting an ask in a separate agreement or calling it voluntary does not automatically make it lawful. Have local counsel confirm authority and the appropriate instrument.
These are separate questions, not points to add together. Missing authority or an unready project cannot be fixed by a high score elsewhere.
Six things worth getting right.
Pick a topic. Get the question, the evidence to request, and a promise worth looking at more closely.
Power & public costs
Who pays if the power demand never arrives?
Ask this
Which costs will this project create, who pays them, and what happens if it opens late or uses less power?
Look for
- An independent cost and ratepayer impact analysis.
- Written allocation of dedicated and shared upgrades.
- Applicable utility terms for minimum billing, cancellation, and financial backing.
Look closer when
An affordability donation is offered without explaining who pays for the infrastructure.
Guide: electricity and cost protection
Worksheet reference: Page 8
Water & cooling
Plan for the hottest day, not just the average year.
Ask this
How much water is needed at peak demand, where does it come from, and what changes in a drought?
Look for
- Annual, peak-day, and peak-hour figures for each project phase.
- Separate figures for water withdrawn, water consumed, and discharge.
- Provider confirmation, metering, operating limits, and a workable drought plan.
Look closer when
A phrase such as “closed loop” replaces a complete explanation of water use and heat removal.
Guide: water supply and cooling
Worksheet reference: Page 9
Life next door
Measure what neighbors will actually experience.
Ask this
What will people hear, breathe, and deal with during construction and full operation?
Look for
- Noise measurements and models that include homes, nighttime use, and generator testing.
- Air-permit review, lighting, road, dust, and construction plans.
- Emergency-service review and a clear complaint and correction process.
Look closer when
A property-line average or a generic setback is treated as the whole neighborhood impact study.
Guide: neighbors and emergency services
Worksheet reference: Page 10
Jobs & local opportunity
Separate the construction rush from lasting jobs.
Ask this
How many ongoing jobs are there, what do they pay, and how can local people qualify?
Look for
- Construction job-years and permanent full-time equivalents reported separately.
- Defined wages, contractor roles, hiring dates, and what ‘local’ means.
- Funded training seats, a delivery partner, and reporting on placements and retention.
Look closer when
Temporary and permanent roles are added into one impressive jobs number.
Money that lasts
Follow the net value, not just the opening check.
Ask this
After incentives and public costs, what does each public body actually receive over time?
Look for
- Taxes and contractual payments after exemptions, abatements, and costs.
- A comparison with current use and realistic alternative development.
- Clear dates, recipients, escalation, and protection if later phases never open.
Look closer when
Private construction spending is counted as public revenue, or the same reimbursement is counted twice.
Guide: public value and financial comparison
Worksheet reference: Pages 5–6 Try the offer comparison
Promises that hold up
A promise needs a payer, a deadline, and a remedy.
Ask this
Who owes what, who checks it, and what can happen if it is not delivered?
Look for
- A named responsible party, measurable obligation, date, reviewer, and controlling document.
- A capable beneficiary with enforcement rights and funded oversight.
- Financial backing and terms for sale, partial buildout, default, and closure.
Look closer when
A company policy, famous logo, or advisory committee stands in for enforceable obligations.
Guide: enforceable terms and oversight
Worksheet reference: Page 11
Sounds good. What does it actually mean?
An announcement is a starting point. Turn it into a question someone can answer with evidence.
Illustrative statement
“This project will create hundreds of jobs.”
Show the better questionHide the better question
How many are construction job-years, how many are ongoing full-time roles, and what are the wages and local hiring pathways?
Evidence to request
A staffing schedule separating construction, employees, and contractors; funded training commitments; placement reporting.
Illustrative statement
“Our cooling system is water efficient.”
Show the better questionHide the better question
What are total annual and peak-day withdrawals and consumption, and what happens during drought?
Evidence to request
A full water balance, provider confirmation, metered limits, and an operating drought plan.
Illustrative statement
“We're investing billions in your community.”
Show the better questionHide the better question
What does each public body collect after incentives, infrastructure, services, and monitoring costs?
Evidence to request
A year-by-year fiscal model with recipients, baseline, incentives, and downside cases.
Illustrative statement
“You have our commitment to be a good neighbor.”
Show the better questionHide the better question
Which entity signs, what exactly must it deliver, and who can enforce the commitment after a sale or closure?
Evidence to request
Executed obligations, monitoring and remedy provisions, and collectible financial backing.
The biggest check isn't always the best deal.
Move the timeline to see how recurring value and public costs change the comparison.
Fictional example from the toolkit · Not market rates or a valuation of a real project
Offer A
$20.18m
Value in today's dollars
Offer B
$110.72m
Value in today's dollars
Over 20 years, Offer B has $90.54 million more net present value under these assumptions.
Over 20 years, Offer B has $90.54 million more net present value under these assumptions.
The larger opening payment in Offer A comes with a public capital cost and lower recurring value. Both offers still need comparison with current use and other realistic options.
| Offer | Net present value |
|---|---|
| Offer A | $20.18m |
| Offer B | $110.72m |
| Difference | $90.54m |
A larger financial benefit does not resolve unacceptable impacts or missing legal authority.
How these numbers work
| Item | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Annual taxes before discretionary abatement | 8.00 | 8.00 |
| Annual abatement, deducted | 5.00 | 0.00 |
| Annual contractual benefit | 0.50 | 1.50 |
| Annual services and monitoring, deducted | 1.50 | 1.50 |
| Annual net recurring value | 2.00 | 8.00 |
| Unreimbursed public capital at year zero, deducted | 12.00 | 0.00 |
| One-time benefit at year zero | 5.00 | 2.00 |
This example describes a fictional 100 MW project for one local government. It assumes end-of-year payments, a 4% real discount rate, constant dollars, no terminal value, the same project impacts under each offer, and authority to receive the stated payments. The original guide compares 20 operating years; this explorer also shows shorter horizons using the same simplified inputs.
Net present value translates future net payments into today's value using a stated discount rate.
Real assessment values, exemptions, construction dates, and project phases change. Replace simplified inputs with a reviewed local model before evaluating an actual offer.
Walk in with better questions.
Use these six prompts to prepare an agenda. Keep the evidence and detailed notes in the companion worksheet.
Use your browser's Print command for a blank meeting sheet.
This tracks preparation, not whether a project is ready for approval. Selections last until you reload or leave this page.
Before a decision
Some gaps cannot be averaged away.
Unresolved authority, unacceptable resource impacts, unprotected public spending, or obligations that cannot be enforced need resolution through the appropriate process. A larger payment does not cancel them out.
Use worksheet page 12 with the authorized decision bodyRecord whether to proceed, seek revisions, defer a discretionary commitment, or decline through the lawful process, with reasons and a next date.
Take it to the table.
Use the full guide for the detail and the worksheet to keep the conversation concrete.
Download everything · ZIP
Read the guide · PDF Download the fillable worksheet · PDF Editable guide · Word Plain-text guide · Markdown
Download the worksheet and open it in a PDF reader that supports forms if your browser will not let you type. Save your own completed copy. Calculations in the worksheet are manual.
Terms in plain English
- MW / MWh
- MW measures power at a point in time. MWh measures energy over time. State whether a figure describes IT equipment, the whole facility, or utility imports.
- Full-time equivalent / job-year
- A way to express ongoing staffing or one full-time year of work. Construction and permanent roles should be reported separately.
- Net present value
- Future net cash flows translated into today's value using a stated discount rate.
- Abatement
- A tax reduction. Its availability and effect depend on local law and the actual agreement.
- Financial security
- Backing intended to make an obligation collectible, such as suitable collateral or a guarantee. The terms and responsible party matter.
- Stranded cost
- Infrastructure or another committed cost left behind when the expected project use or payments do not arrive.
Sources & edition notes
Adapted from the Community Guide to Data Center Negotiations, US edition, September 12, 2026. The supplied guide contains the source references below. Source descriptions reflect that edition; linked policies and rules may change.
- Berkeley Lab — Speed to Power (opens in a new tab) Technical report
- AEP Ohio — Data Center Tariff (opens in a new tab) Utility tariff resource
- PUCO — AEP Ohio data center tariff order announcement (opens in a new tab) Regulator announcement
- Microsoft — Building Community First AI Infrastructure (opens in a new tab) Company announcement
- Google — Arkansas investment and energy programs (opens in a new tab) Company announcement
- Texas Legislature — SB 6 enrolled text, 89th Legislature (opens in a new tab) Enrolled legislation
This toolkit is negotiation guidance, not a ready-to-sign contract or legal opinion. Use verified local evidence and appropriate legal, utility, engineering, and tax review before adopting terms.