Key facts
- OpenAI said state utility providers should require large electricity customers to cover the costs they add to the grid.
- The framework would let providers throttle power to data centers during periods of high demand, OpenAI said.
- OpenAI proposed public reporting on facilities' water and energy usage, noise and potential job openings.
- The proposal would narrow, but not eliminate, circumstances in which developers can require officials to sign nondisclosure agreements.
- OpenAI pledged to pay the full cost of energy usage and infrastructure and to prioritize closed-loop cooling systems.
- OpenAI said it would work with local unions to fill data center jobs and fund community projects residents choose.
OpenAI backed a set of measures it says will give communities a greater say in data center development, according to a policy announcement shared with POLITICO and published on November 5. The framework is aimed at local, state and federal officials.
In the proposal, OpenAI said state utility providers should require large electricity customers to cover the costs they add to the grid and protect other customers if a project falls through. It would also allow providers to throttle power to data centers during periods of high demand.
Under the blueprint, developers would face public reporting requirements for facilities' water and energy usage, noise and potential job openings. The proposal would narrow, but not eliminate, the circumstances in which developers can require public officials to sign nondisclosure agreements, a point of contention for some communities that have been left in the dark on local developments because of NDAs.
OpenAI also unveiled commitments to communities near its data centers, including a promise to pay for the full cost of energy usage and infrastructure, prioritize closed-loop cooling systems that use less water and work with local unions to fill jobs at the data centers. The company also pledged to invest in community improvement projects of the residents' choosing.
OpenAI has previously promised to invest in community improvement projects selected by local residents and announced plans to rebrand data centers as "compute campuses." The article cited a $16 billion data center in Saline, Michigan, developed by Related Digital for Oracle and OpenAI.