Data centers are coming. Here’s how communities can negotiate for local benefit.

Across the country developers are seeking new areas to build AI data centers. The scale is unprecedented, with the Top Four AI companies — Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta — and other developers pouring billions into facilities with footprints as large as 70 football fields. As these projects proliferate, so does public pushback. Communities nationwide are organizing to resist data centers out of fear that their harms will eclipse any benefits. Meanwhile economic development leaders eye the growth potential these projects can bring to rural communities. So should communities just say no? Welcome these projects with open arms (and generous tax breaks)? Or is there potential for a win-win agreement? Whatever decision a community ultimately makes, the most important thing is to get informed and organized so you can negotiate to leverage long-term local benefits. This starts with understanding the potential harms and benefits and identifying where the community’s interests converge with those of AI data center developers.