Compare a proposed data center with realistic alternatives for the same parcel and with a no-build scenario. Use the same time horizon, local assumptions, and standard of evidence for every option. Then weigh land use, infrastructure costs, public finances, jobs, environmental and neighborhood effects, and whether promised benefits can be enforced. Without a specific parcel and proposal, there is no reliable universal answer about which use is best.
Start with the parcel, the alternatives, and the no-build case
A proposal should not be judged against an imaginary alternative—or against an assumption that the land will remain exactly as it is forever. Establish what happens under each scenario, including what is likely if the project is rejected.
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- Describe the site today: record its ownership, current use, zoning, physical constraints, access, and existing infrastructure.
- Define plausible alternatives: use local plans, market evidence, site conditions, and community priorities to identify options such as housing, commercial or industrial development, agriculture, public facilities, or conservation. Treat these as candidates to test, not automatically feasible uses.
- Set a no-build baseline: describe the likely future of the parcel if the data center is not approved, including foreseeable maintenance, redevelopment, or continued use.
- Use a common comparison period: make clear the years covered and how construction, operating years, later costs, and closure are treated. Use consistent assumptions about inflation, tax treatment, utility costs, and timing across scenarios.
The opportunity cost is the value or public benefit of the best feasible alternative that would be displaced—not the value of every imaginable use. If no alternative is supported by local planning or market evidence, say so rather than assigning it speculative benefits.
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Test whether the site fits the use
Compare the data center’s actual site plan with the parcel’s surroundings and with the siting requirements of plausible alternatives. A large building’s height, footprint, equipment, access roads, and operating characteristics can matter as much as the acreage it occupies.
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- Review building area and height, setbacks, buffers, landscaping, lighting, and the location of generators and other equipment.
- Assess proximity to homes and sensitive uses, traffic routes, construction disturbance, stormwater, and the effect on the local landscape.
- Ask whether an existing building, previously disturbed industrial site, or parcel already served by infrastructure could accommodate the project with less new land conversion.
- Compare the proposal’s footprint with the land and infrastructure needs of each plausible alternative.
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recommends considering a “build up, not out” presumption that gives priority to previously disturbed land, retired industrial sites, or parcels already served by infrastructure before converting farmland or greenfields. That is a siting consideration, not proof that any particular site is suitable or that local decision-makers have authority to require it.
Ask for project-specific infrastructure evidence
Headline investment figures do not establish whether a site can be served—or who would pay to make service possible. Request written, project-specific information and identify costs that would not arise without the proposal.
| Topic | Evidence to request | Comparison question |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity and grid | Peak and annual load forecasts, connection timing, planned upgrades, reliability assumptions, and written utility input | What new capacity or grid work is needed, when is it needed, and how are its costs allocated? |
| Water and wastewater | Water source, demand by season and project phase, cooling assumptions, wastewater needs, and relevant drought conditions | Can supply and wastewater service meet the projected demand without displacing higher-priority needs? |
| Roads and broadband | Access and traffic plans, road work, broadband requirements, and schedules for any improvements | Which improvements are project-driven, who funds them, and what effects remain for other users? |
For each item, distinguish the developer’s proposed contribution from costs that could fall to a utility, local government, or existing customers. Ask whether the timing or allocation could affect affordability, reliability, or availability for others. Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) toolkit treats power, water, broadband, and land use as connected planning questions; it is guidance for Pennsylvania local officials, not a nationwide rule.
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Calculate net public value rather than repeating the investment figure
Compare public revenues and costs over the same period for the data center, feasible alternatives, and no-build case. A proposed construction or investment amount is not a measure of net local benefit.
- Estimate taxes actually expected after exemptions, abatements, or other incentives—not just the tax that would apply without them.
- Include public service, infrastructure, and administrative costs, plus fees, community contributions, and any continuing liabilities.
- Separate one-time receipts from recurring revenue and identify when each is expected to arrive.
- Show which level of government or public body receives revenue and which bears costs; regional gains do not automatically balance local burdens.
- Where estimates depend on assumptions about assessed value, tax policy, service demand, or project completion, disclose those assumptions and test how results change if they do not hold.
Ask for an independent life-cycle fiscal analysis when the projected benefits or costs are material. Report net outcomes, not just gross investment or gross tax estimates.
Separate construction work from permanent employment
Require the applicant to report construction employment separately from permanent operating jobs. For each category, ask for the expected number, duration, wages, and timing; distinguish direct jobs from indirect estimates and explain the method used to estimate them.
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To judge whether employment benefits reach local residents, request information about local hiring, training pathways, qualifications, and the share of jobs likely to be accessible to people in the host community. Compare these outcomes with the land and public support committed, and use comparable measures for alternative projects where evidence is available.
BPC’s 2026 report cites an estimate of $13.1 billion in tax revenue and 99,000 direct and indirect jobs from data centers in California in 2023, attributing the estimate to the industry source Center of Your Digital World. It is a California-specific reported estimate, not a per-facility return, an independent causal estimate, or a forecast for another jurisdiction. It should not substitute for local projections.
Compare environmental and quality-of-life effects
Use project-specific studies to assess the proposal and alternatives under the same local conditions. Do not assume an impact is negligible—or that a proposed design choice eliminates it—without evidence.
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- Water: assess supply, seasonal demand, wastewater, water quality, and local water stress.
- Power and emissions: examine the project’s expected electricity use, emissions associated with routine power, and backup-generator use.
- Neighbors: assess noise, light, traffic, construction disturbance, and how these effects vary by location and operating conditions.
- Site and cumulative effects: examine stormwater, habitat, land conversion, and combined effects with existing or proposed development.
Request disclosed assumptions, measurable mitigation, and monitoring plans. Cooling and power choices belong in the comparison as elements of the actual proposal; their effects should be supported by project-specific evidence. BPC’s 2026 guidance organizes community review around transparency; power, water, infrastructure, and affordability; quality of life; land use and environmental effects; and economic development. It emphasizes that community conditions differ.
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A projected benefit or proposed mitigation matters only if it can be measured and, where legally available, enforced. Before relying on a commitment, identify who is responsible, how performance will be verified, what happens if a milestone is missed, and whether the relevant local or state authority can impose the condition.
- Define public reporting requirements and milestones for construction, utility coordination, hiring, or mitigation.
- Where incentives are offered, consider tying them to verifiable outcomes and tracking results over time.
- Specify ongoing monitoring for impacts such as noise, water use, or generator operation where applicable.
- Address closure and end-of-life responsibilities at the outset, including whether financial assurance and site restoration can be required.
- Consider whether a community benefit agreement or other commitment has clear obligations, monitoring, and remedies.
BPC recommends considering decommissioning provisions early and notes that localities can condition incentives on verified milestones. The availability and enforceability of these tools depend on local law and the terms of the proposal; they are not guaranteed in every jurisdiction.
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Show who benefits, who bears impacts, and what remains uncertain
Present results by place and over time, not only as a community-wide total. Identify who receives revenue or employment, who experiences construction or operating impacts, and when each occurs. A benefit to a wider region does not by itself compensate the residents or services that bear a local cost.
Label estimates by their source, date, assumptions, and level of uncertainty. If a material forecast—such as utility upgrades, water availability, tax receipts, or jobs—cannot be independently checked, say what evidence is missing and avoid presenting the forecast as certain. No parcel-level comparison or defensible national average for net fiscal returns, jobs per acre, or water and energy impacts across alternative uses is established here; those measures need local evidence.
Use local rules and examples carefully
Planning authority differs by jurisdiction. Check current zoning, utility regulation, environmental review, tax law, and permitting rules before treating any proposed condition or comparison factor as something a decision-maker can require.
Pennsylvania DCED’s toolkit is an example of a state resource that follows review from an initial inquiry through zoning, permitting, and longer-term planning. Minneapolis offers a local rulemaking example: its city page, last updated September 14, 2026, described preliminary recommendations for conditional-use review, limits on facility location and size, disclosures about expected water, electricity, generators, and sound attenuation, and evidence of utility coordination. The page described a future adoption process; check the city’s current status before treating those recommendations as enacted. Neither example sets a standard for other places.
The Citizens Research Council of Michigan’s report summary, dated June 16, 2026, recommends case-by-case evaluation and distinguishes large hyperscale facilities from smaller data centers. Its Michigan-focused conclusions describe economic benefits as modest and concentrated in construction, identify property taxes or community benefit agreements as possible host-community benefits, and call attention to noise. Those findings should not be generalized to a different facility or jurisdiction without local evidence.
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