Data center development often operate in secrecy, hiding critical information about energy, water use, costs, and land leases from the public. Many residents in communities with recent data center project report being notified of the project only after permits were issued. Not only is this lack of transparency undemocratic— it also makes it difficult for communities and policy makers to ask questions, pose challenges, or advocate for protections.
Where to look
It’s hard to know what you don’t know, especially when there are politicians, public relations teams, and lawyers working behind the scenes to keep information hidden. Here are a few places where communities are often left in the dark:
- Development contracts: Sometimes, the entire planning process happens behind closed doors without any solicitation for community feedback at all. Often, stakeholders (including public officials) signed non-disclosure agreements, making it even more difficult to access information after the fact.
- Articles of organization: It’s difficult to hold a company accountable when it’s unclear who holds liability. Big Tech may make this harder by spreading risk and ownership over several different business entities—one that holds the land, one that owns the servers, one that operates the facility, and so on.
- Environmental impact assessments: Tech companies frequently block the release of environmental and operational data, leaving policymakers and residents in the dark about subsidies, resource consumption, and environmental risks.
- Utility contracts: The breakdown of who pays for high-voltage transmission upgrades—the corporation or the local ratepayer—is often buried in private utility contracts. Precise data on peak megawatt demand, hourly grid draws, and daily gallon-per-minute aquifer extraction rates are often classified as "trade secrets."
Key Facts
- NDAs, private contracts, backroom deals often make it difficult for residents, policy makers, lawyers, and experts understand and fully evaluate data center development projects.
Resources/ Sources
- Virginia DEQ: Issued Air Permits for Data Centers – Lists state permits but highlights limited public transparency.
- Justin Hendrix: XAI's Memphis Neighbors Push for Facts and Fairness – Examines secrecy surrounding AI facilities in Black neighborhoods.
- NAACP: Data Centers Impact Energy Demand – Highlights disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities.
- Kasia Tarczynska: What to Ask When a Data Center Wants to Come to Town – Community questions for transparency and public oversight.
- Sierra Club: Demanding Better Report – Discusses the opacity of data center operations and environmental impacts.
- Chesapeake Climate Action Fund and Global Strategy Group: Polling on Virginians' Views – Reveals public concern over hidden costs and lack of transparency.
- Midwest Environmental Advocates: Data Center Toolkit – Guides communities on legal and advocacy strategies.
- Sierra Club: State Policy – Data Centers. Data center electricity demand is rapidly rising, threatening climate goals and utility stability, and this guide offers state-level policies to prevent environmental and equity harm.
- Friends of the Earth: Artificial Intelligence Threats to Climate Change. AI threatens the climate by massively increasing energy and water use and spreading climate disinformation, creating urgent needs for regulation and accountability.
- Kasia Tarczynska: Data Center Subsidies Report – Documents hidden incentives for Big Tech.
- Alex de Vries-Gao: AI Energy Consumption Study – Quantifies hidden environmental costs.
- Halt the Harm: The Local Impact of Data Centers – Video discussing local transparency challenges.
- Adam Mahoney: Data Centers in Black Communities – Reports on secrecy and inequitable impacts.
- David Segal: Boarderplex, New Mexico Data Center Mystery – Illustrates lack of public knowledge about projects.
- Kate Horgan: Communities Against AI Data Center – Grassroots organizing for transparency.
- NCEJN/Kairos: Organizer Guide – Step-by-step guide for local transparency advocacy.