OpenAI Publishes Community Compact for Its AI Data Centers

The Blueprint itself acknowledges that Americans want to know how such projects affect electricity bills, water supply, roads and quality of life, and that doubting whether big Silicon Valley investments will benefit locals is reasonable.

What OpenAI promises

The Compact says OpenAI will not require public officials to sign NDAs as a condition of talks, limiting confidentiality to legitimate security information, trade secrets and competitive data. It also said it voided an NDA at its planned site in Effingham County, Georgia, in July. Each site will publish a construction plan covering traffic, noise and lighting, and a website will show noise, water use, power use, sustainability efforts, jobs and tax contributions. Independent noise surveys will run before operations begin and yearly afterward.

On power, OpenAI says it will pay the full cost of the electricity and infrastructure its sites need, signing the national Ratepayer Protection Pledge and providing financial guarantees before major spending so other customers are not left with costs if a project is delayed, shrunk or cancelled. It will also act as a "Grid Protector", cutting demand when the grid is strained. In Effingham County, it has agreed with Georgia Power to cover all infrastructure costs and committed up to 1,000MW of demand response. For water, it will favor closed-loop and low-water cooling and prepare local water plans.

The Blueprint asks federal, state and local policymakers to set baseline protections for any company building data centers, including rules for state utility commissions to make large power users pay grid-connection costs, and for tax incentives to be disclosed and clawed back if promises are broken.