Behind NDAs and lucrative tax breaks, data center builders launched the largest infrastructure build-out in U.S. history to power technology that many voters believe will raise their power bills, widen inequality or take their jobs, and whose own creators warn could threaten humanity. Who could possibly have foreseen a backlash?
Trust built before the shovel hits the dirt costs a fraction of rebuilding it after the ballots are counted.
Data centers are not unique in this respect. There is a whole category of LULUs -- locally unwanted land uses -- e.g., hazardous waste treatment storage and disposal facilities. There is a longstanding playbook for dealing with local opposition. Methods include mitigation of local harms, compensation to nearby residents, and negotiations that underlie the first two.
