Tech & AI
OpenAI Pledges to Drop NDAs and Pay for Power at Data Centre Sites After Election Backlash
The AI lab unveiled a community compact a day after voters in several states rejected data-centre projects at the ballot box.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
OpenAI on Thursday published a National Community Compact, a set of commitments for how it will build and run AI data centres, which it now calls "compute campuses". It promises to pay for the energy its infrastructure uses, protect local resources, warn communities about its impact and publish area-by-area reports on the jobs it expects to create.
The company also said it will stop using non-disclosure agreements with public officials when negotiating future sites, with narrow exceptions for security information and trade secrets. Residents are to get access to construction plans and information on likely traffic, noise and lighting disruption. OpenAI said the policies have been in development since August. The compact itself contains no dollar amounts, energy targets or job numbers.
The announcement follows Tuesday's midterm elections, where Democrats won governorships in Texas, Georgia and Ohio on pledges to pause new data-centre permits and tighten construction rules. According to Ballotpedia, all but one of 41 data-centre ballot measures decided that week went against the projects. OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, said a planned southern Ohio facility is expected to support 2,500 long-term jobs at an average salary of $80,000.
For investors, local opposition is becoming a real constraint on the build-out that underpins demand for chips, servers and power equipment. Permitting delays or higher community and energy costs could push back capacity timelines and weigh on returns for developers and their suppliers. Watch whether other large AI groups adopt similar terms, and whether state-level pauses turn into law.