Can communities and data centers find common ground?

The message that Americans have no love for AI data centers rang out loud and clear in the midterms, with dozens of jurisdictions voting to stop their construction and electing governors who oppose them. Where they are still allowed, it's likely we'll see some concessions from data center developers — like community benefit agreements. These agreements have been used for decades for big building projects like transit or sports arenas. Late last year, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, signed one of the first major CBAs with data center developers. Devashree Saha, director of the U.S. Clean Energy Economy Program at the World Resources Institute, explains how the agreement came together and where it might fall short. More on this After the midterms, a bigger clash over data centers could be coming — from Tech Crunch OpenAI pledges no NDAs, protection from power costs in data center deals — from Seeking Alpha Powering Progress: How Community Benefits Agreements Can Drive Responsible Data Center Development — from the World Resources Institute