Data centers that are good neighbors.
Grow your community. Protect your neighbors.
Many communities want the jobs and tax money a data center brings. They also fear higher power bills, lost water, and noise. The Good Neighbor Approach™ sets clear limits before a project is built. Then you can check them after it opens.
Every promise has a number, and an outside expert checks it. All before anything is built.
Seven promises at a glance
Select any promise to see the exact standard and how your community can check it.
Low water
About 90% less water than an average data center.
Low emissions
As clean as California requires of its best big power plants.
Low noise
No more than 45 decibels at night at the nearest home.
Low grid impact
The site makes its own power.
Ratepayer protection
Pays 100% of the power lines it needs, not your family.
Responsible land use
Noisy equipment stays at least 400 feet from homes.
Community benefits
A written agreement for local jobs, training, and a yearly fund.
Ask for a Good Neighbor Review before your vote.
Request a reviewHow each promise works
What we commit to, the standard behind it, and how you can check it.
Low water
Cooling uses a closed loop, with no cooling towers. Water is used only to make power and to restart equipment.
The limit works like a food label. It shows sugar per serving, not per box. Here, one serving is the power one home uses in a month.
That is about 90% less, or one-tenth as much. A bigger site makes more servings. Each must stay below the limit.
Water study before building. Meter readings posted each year. Fixes are required if limits are missed.
Low emissions
Main power is made on site. It must be as clean as California requires of its best big power plants.
The same food label idea applies. For each serving of power, the site may let out no more than the amounts shown.
An outside expert tests the air before it opens and each year.
Low noise
Measured at the nearest home’s property line. At night, that is about as loud as a quiet room. There is also a limit to low hum. Backup power is tested on weekdays, in the day only.
Sound study before building. Outside sound test within 60 days of opening. Fixes are required if limits are missed.
Low grid impact
The site makes its own power. It draws little or no power from the local grid each day.
The utility puts this in writing before building starts.
Ratepayer protection
The project pays 100% of the power lines, substations, or gas lines it needs. If it ever buys power from the utility, it signs a long contract. The contract has a monthly minimum, a deposit, and fees to leave early.
Families and local stores do not pay the bill.
Contract terms are filed with the utility and shared with local leaders.
Responsible land use
Trees and plants screen the site. Money is set aside to take out the equipment if the site closes.
Site plan and removal bond approved before permits.
Community benefits
A written agreement with the community, signed before building starts. It sets goals for local hiring, job training, and a yearly fund.
A public report on hiring and giving, each year.
For residents
Your power bill, your water, and your quiet nights are protected in writing. Every promise has a number. An outside expert checks each one.
For public officials
Each standard can become a permit rule. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is still making national rules on who pays for grid work. Local rules protect your community now.
Ask for a Good Neighbor Review before your next vote.
We will walk your council, commission, or community group through each promise for a proposed site.
