Before deciding whether to support or oppose a proposed data center, find out what this specific project would require from local power, water, roads and public services—and what enforceable benefits and protections the town would receive in return. Ask for project-specific studies, identify which public bodies make each decision, and compare documented costs with commitments that can be monitored and enforced. A “data center” is not a single design or level of impact: facilities differ in size, use, cooling, power supply and permitting path.
Start by finding the decisions, documents and deadlines
Ask what has been disclosed
Ask the developer and local officials for the current site plan, project description, construction schedule, anticipated operating needs, impact studies and economic analysis. Request the assumptions behind forecasts, including whether they cover the facility as first proposed or possible future expansion. Ask who is responsible for answering residents and when the developer will publish updated estimates and milestones.
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If information is withheld, ask what specific material is confidential, who made that determination and whether a non-confidential summary can be released. A useful review depends on knowing which estimates are project-specific and which are still preliminary.
Map who decides what
Do not assume that one hearing or approval settles every issue. Ask the town clerk, planning department or relevant agencies for a written list of decisions, responsible bodies, public-comment methods and dates. Depending on the proposal and local law, the path may include zoning or land-use decisions, environmental permits, utility or transmission approvals, and substation review. Establish which decisions are discretionary, what standards apply and whether comments must be submitted in writing, spoken at a hearing, or both.
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The division of responsibility is jurisdiction-specific. Fairfax County, Virginia, describes county roles in land use and zoning and state-level energy matters handled by Virginia’s State Corporation Commission. That example is not a map of approvals in other counties or states. Ask your own local and state agencies to identify their authority and the point at which residents can comment.
Ask what electricity, water and infrastructure the project needs
Electricity demand and who pays
Ask the developer and utilities for projected peak demand and annual electricity use, for both initial operations and expected growth. Request the assumptions used, the estimate’s time horizon and whether it includes on-site generation. Then ask what new generation, transmission, substations or local distribution upgrades would be required, who would fund construction and operation, and how regulators would allocate those costs among customers.
Separate the facility’s electricity consumption from the cost of building infrastructure to serve it. Whether a project affects residential or other customers depends on local utility rules, regulatory decisions and rate design; “Will bills go up?” alone does not reveal which costs are attributable to the project or how they could be recovered. Ask what rate protections or customer-class rules apply in your jurisdiction and where those decisions will be made.
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For scale, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) reported that data centers accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024. That global figure does not estimate the demand of a proposed facility or predict local bills.
Water supply, cooling and wastewater
Request the facility’s water source and projected withdrawals and consumption by season. Ask which cooling system is proposed, what it would use under ordinary and peak conditions, and how the plan changes during drought, water restrictions or other supply constraints. Ask about wastewater volumes, treatment and discharge, water quality, reuse options and effects on other users and watershed capacity. Find out who would pay for any new water or wastewater infrastructure.
Ask whether lower-water cooling, water reuse, a different design or another site was considered, and request the comparison used to make that choice. A regional or national figure cannot establish one project’s water use: EPRI reported 17.4 billion gallons of U.S. data-center water use in 2023, a different geography and year from its global electricity statistic. EPRI and the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) identify water availability and use as community concerns; the proposal’s own estimates and local water conditions are what residents need to evaluate.
Ask what neighbors and the environment may experience
Get baselines, limits and public monitoring
Request project-specific assessments and baseline conditions for construction traffic and noise, routine equipment noise, nighttime lighting, visual effects, backup-generator or on-site-power emissions, and water quality. Ask where and when measurements will be taken, what operating limits are proposed, whether results will be public, and what corrective action follows if a limit is exceeded. Ask how residents can report a problem and who must respond.
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Ask how the site and proposed design relate to nearby homes, schools, farms, historic properties, sensitive habitats and constrained water resources. Request any analysis of alternative sites or designs and, where other large facilities are planned nearby, the assessment of cumulative effects on shared power, water, roads and the surrounding area. One project’s study may not describe the combined demands of several projects.
Mitigation should be specific enough to check: for example, a stated noise limit and measurement schedule are more useful than an assurance that noise will be addressed. Fairfax County describes noise studies, screening and design standards in its own zoning context; the applicable requirements elsewhere depend on local rules and the project’s approvals. BPC’s planning considerations also cover land-use fit and environmental impacts.
Compare jobs, public revenue and incentives
Separate construction work from lasting jobs
Request job estimates by phase, distinguishing temporary construction employment from permanent operating jobs. Ask for occupations, wage ranges, qualifications, expected hiring dates, local-hiring goals and apprenticeship or training plans. Find out whether any hiring or training commitments are written into an agreement, tied to incentives, reported publicly and backed by consequences if they are missed.
Calculate the net public value
Ask for a plain-language account of expected taxes and other payments over the project’s life, along with abatements, exemptions, grants and other incentives. Include public costs for roads, utilities, emergency services and other infrastructure, and ask which assumptions underlie each estimate. Compare the expected net benefit with ordinary tax treatment, not just the headline revenue figure. The Urban Institute’s local examples show why the length and value of incentives should be considered alongside expected permanent jobs; those examples are not estimates for your town.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Local figures illustrate why jurisdiction and year matter. Fairfax County reported $110.6 million in data-center tax revenue for tax year 2026, about 1.9% of its FY 2027 General Fund revenue. The county also reported 20 standalone data centers operating and 11 under construction in August 2026. Those are Fairfax County figures, not a forecast for another community or a measure of any proposed project’s net value.
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Make community benefits concrete
If the developer offers a community-benefit agreement, ask for the agreement itself and check:
- Which parties are bound and which communities are intended to benefit.
- The exact actions, amounts or targets, funding source and delivery dates.
- How performance will be reported and who can verify it.
- Who can enforce the commitments and what happens if a target is missed.
Benefits such as workforce training, local payments, school support or parks are not guaranteed by a general promise. BPC recommends documenting community benefits and tying incentives to verifiable outcomes. Ask whether benefits will arrive when construction or operating impacts occur, and whether the commitments continue if the facility expands or changes ownership.
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Approval is not the end of the questions. Ask which agency or other party will monitor electricity and water use, emissions, noise, traffic and promised benefits; how often it will check; and whether the results will be public. Find out how to report a problem, who has enforcement authority over each condition and what remedies are available. Ask whether permits or agreements can be revisited if the facility expands or its resource needs change.
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Long-term oversight matters because resource use and local obligations continue after a hearing. BPC and the Urban Institute both treat planning and oversight as continuing concerns, not matters resolved solely by the initial siting decision.
Use the same evidence to compare proposals
If the town is considering multiple sites, designs or proposals, ask the same questions of each. A common comparison makes differences visible without assuming in advance which tradeoffs matter most locally.
| Compare | Evidence to request for each option |
|---|---|
| Power and water | Peak and annual electricity demand; seasonal water withdrawals and consumption; assumptions, cooling method and expected changes over time. |
| Infrastructure and affordability | Required generation, grid, substation, water and wastewater work; capital and operating costs; who pays and how costs are allocated to customers. |
| Local effects | Noise, light, air, traffic and water-quality studies; land-use fit; mitigation, monitoring and cumulative effects. |
| Jobs and public finances | Construction and permanent jobs, wages and training; taxes and incentives; public costs; estimated net fiscal value over the project life. |
| Benefits and accountability | Specific commitments, delivery dates, affected communities, public reporting, enforcement and consequences for missed targets. |
| Public process | Documents disclosed, unresolved questions, decision-makers, approval standards, hearing dates and opportunities to comment. |
BPC’s framework supports evaluating projects across these kinds of considerations; it also recognizes that local goals and acceptable tradeoffs differ. Use the same measures for each alternative, and record where a proposal lacks an estimate or an enforceable commitment rather than treating an unanswered question as a favorable result.
Questions to take to a meeting or records request
- What are the projected peak and annual electricity demands, and what assumptions support those estimates?
- What new generation, transmission, substation or distribution upgrades are needed, who pays, and how are the costs allocated?
- What is the water source, projected use by season, cooling method and plan for drought or restrictions?
- What noise, light, air, traffic and water-quality studies have been completed, and will the results and operating limits be public?
- How many temporary and permanent jobs are expected, at what wages, and what commitments support local hiring and training?
- What taxes, exemptions, public costs and community payments are expected over the project’s life?
- Which promises are legally enforceable, who monitors them, and what happens if the developer misses a target?
- Which local and state bodies decide each part of the proposal, and when and how can residents comment?
These questions address concerns raised in BPC’s 2026 planning considerations, EPRI’s community and resource discussions, and the Urban Institute’s treatment of local impacts and incentives. Fairfax County has separately asked geographically specific questions about data-center water use in Northern Virginia and whether residents pay costs associated with increased energy demand. Those questions are useful prompts, but the answers depend on the local project, utility and rules.
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