OpenAI published a National Community Compact on 5 November 2026, setting out what communities can expect from data centres it will own and operate. A Compute Campus Policy Blueprint came with it, urging lawmakers to turn similar terms into rules for the whole industry. The release landed two days after midterm elections in which voters backed limits on data centres; OpenAI told Bloomberg it had been preparing the update for months, before the results.
“What we’re doing with this blueprint is really laying out the best lessons that we have learned and committing to applying them as they go forward. This will help ensure that there is a very high floor in terms of how people move forward.”
Chris Lehane, OpenAI chief global affairs officer, to reporters at a Wednesday briefing · techstartups.com ↗
On power, OpenAI says it will pay the full cost of the electricity it uses and of the grid upgrades utilities need to serve its sites, and will give financial assurances so other customers are not left paying if a project is delayed, shrunk or cancelled. Each community is to get a water plan favouring closed-loop or low-water cooling, water and electricity use will be published site by site, and independent noise studies will be commissioned. It also drops NDAs with public officials, apart from limited protection for sensitive information, and promises to cut peak demand, send power back to the grid and set local hiring targets where feasible.
Two sites show what that looks like. In Effingham County, Georgia, a deal with Georgia Power lets deliveries to the campus be cut by up to 1,000 MW at peak demand, and an $80m commitment includes $4.8m for free school meals for 14,000 students and $2m for a park. In Pike County, Ohio, OpenAI and SB Energy have jointly pledged $6m for childcare.
The vote behind this is counted differently by different outlets. Engadget cites Data Centers on the Ballot for 39 measures restricting data centres, while Tech Startups says voters backed limits in all but one of 41 local measures in 10 states, and AI Weekly says 40 of 41, both citing CNBC. AI Weekly adds a Quinnipiac poll putting opposition to a nearby AI data centre at 73% of registered voters.
About OpenAI
OpenAI's data centre building sits within the Stargate Project, a US AI infrastructure build-out announced by President Trump on 21 January 2025 and estimated to cost $500bn, with OpenAI as a participant.
This is not the first time OpenAI has made community promises. In January 2026 it unveiled a Stargate Community plan under which each site would pay its own way on energy, so that operations do not lift local electricity prices, prioritise closed-loop or low-water cooling, and invest in local jobs through OpenAI Academies.
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Tech Startups notes the pledges are voluntary and not legally enforceable, so their worth depends on utility agreements and follow-through. The blueprint asks federal, state and local lawmakers to make the terms binding. Engadget notes OpenAI had already promised not to raise local power bills.
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