OpenAI said Thursday it will pay the full cost of electricity and grid infrastructure at future compute campuses it owns and operates, and will stop asking local officials to sign non-disclosure agreements, under a new National Community Compact. The pledge landed two days after voters in the US midterm elections backed restrictions on data center development.
"We will pay the full cost of powering our compute campuses and ensure local residents do not foot the bill for our energy needs," OpenAI wrote in the compact. "Compute campuses" is the company's new name for its AI data centers, and the compact applies to future sites that OpenAI both owns and operates.
The compact also commits OpenAI to provide financial assurances before costly grid upgrades are built, so other utility customers are not left paying if a project shrinks or fails. Each campus is set to get a water plan, independent noise studies and an annual public progress report.
Key facts
- 01OpenAI published its National Community Compact on Thursday, November 5, two days after the US midterm elections.
- 02OpenAI says it will pay the full cost of power and grid infrastructure at future compute campuses it owns and operates.
- 03Local officials will no longer be asked to sign NDAs before reviewing OpenAI campus proposals.
- 04In Effingham County, Georgia, OpenAI committed funds to cover free school lunches for 14,000 students.
- 05In Pike County, Ohio, OpenAI and SB Energy pledged $6 million toward local childcare programs.
On secrecy, mayors and city councils will no longer have to sign NDAs before reviewing OpenAI project proposals. The company says it will publish site plans, noise studies and expected water demand directly to local residents.
OpenAI pointed to two existing community deals. In Effingham County, Georgia, it committed funds to cover free school lunches for 14,000 students while helping Georgia Power manage peak grid demand. In Pike County, Ohio, OpenAI and SB Energy pledged $6 million toward local childcare programs.
Alongside the compact, OpenAI released a Compute Campus Policy Blueprint aimed at legislators and regulators, asking them to apply similar requirements across the industry. "Policymakers should direct state public utility commissions to create large-load tariffs that require large electricity consumers to pay the incremental costs they create," the blueprint says.
The blueprint also calls for mandatory reporting, narrow limits on NDAs with public officials, and provisions that let governments claw back tax breaks when developers miss agreed commitments. OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said the pledges build on months of discussions with local candidates and grid operators.
The timing follows an election in which voters backed data center restrictions in multiple states, with rising electric bills and heavy water use cited as the main drivers of local opposition over the summer.
The national compact does not spell out penalties for noncompliance, a dispute process, or independent verification of the electricity and water figures. Partners including Oracle build and own much of the infrastructure reserved for OpenAI, and OpenAI has not said whether the compact automatically covers partner-owned facilities.
OpenAI says every future campus it owns and operates will receive its own local compact and an annual public progress report.
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