Can Data Centers Be Good Neighbors?

Helping communities make better decisions about data center development.

Data centers differ in their purpose, scale, location and the companies developing and operating them. Those differences shape what communities stand to gain, the costs and risks they may carry, and the choices available to them.

The Good Neighbor Framework brings four considerations into the same conversation: transparency, risk mitigation, community value, and community voice and accountability. Together, they provide a way to examine the full bargain and what it takes to make informed decisions and hold the parties to their commitments.

Explore the GOOD NEIGHBOR Framework

Why This Matters

More than 3,000 data centers are operating nationwide and more than 1,500 are in development. Two-thirds of planned facilities are in rural areas, a significant shift from the existing market. Data centers could account for 9.5% to 15.3% of U.S. electricity use by 2030.

Yet the decisions associated with this growth are often made through separate processes. Local governments evaluate land use and economic development. Utilities plan for electricity demand. Regulators consider transmission infrastructure. Other institutions oversee environmental permitting, water, transportation and public investment.

Communities experience the cumulative outcomes of these decisions together.

THE GOOD NEIGHBOR FRAMEWORK

What Makes a Data Center a Good Neighbor?

Recent Analysis & Field Notes

Field Notes
Same Data Center. Different Place. Different Bargain?
Same Data Center. Different Place. Different Bargain?

The same data center can create different benefits, costs and risks depending on where it is built. A closer look at greenfield, industrial and brownfield sites.

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What is a “Fair Share?”
What is a “Fair Share?”

A data center is a Rorschach test. An economic developer may see investment, tax revenue and new resources for schools and public services. A neighbor may see noise, changing landscapes and land consumed by facilities, substations and transmission lines. A utility sees an enormous new customer, rapid demand growth and the risks that come with planning billions of dollars of infrastructure around uncertain future load. Regulators and ratepayers are asking who should pay for it. Developers are optimizing for speed to market. Policymakers are trying to sift through all of it and decide what serves their constituents.

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My New Neighbors
My New Neighbors

What should a data center neighbor expect in return for hosting the infrastructure of the digital economy?

Data centers near Ashburn, Virginia. Photo: Theodore Christopher / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

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Work We’re Following

  • A yellow sign that says 'No Data Center' with a crossed-out computer icon, placed in a grassy area beside a street with trees and parked cars.

    Caltech LCSSP: Fit for What Purpose? Evaluating Data Centers on Local Terms

    Read
  • An aerial view of a large industrial or commercial building under construction, with construction equipment, vehicles, and materials surrounding it. There are two ponds in the foreground and a fenced perimeter around the site.

    Brookings: The Local Implications of Data Centers for Rural Communities in the U.S.

    Read
  • Sunset over a landscape with power lines and electricity pylons stretching across green fields and distant mountains.

    RMI: The Path to Power: Connecting Large Loads

    Read
  • A modern data center surrounded by trees with wind turbines and digital binary code overlay

    ACEEE: Data Center Research

    Read
  • A landscape with lush green grass and trees, power lines on tall wooden poles running through the scene, and a mountain in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

    VEIC: Flexible Load Growth

    Read
  • Split view of a data center with server racks on the left and a modern industrial building on the right, under a partly cloudy sky.

    JLARC: Data Centers in Virginia

    Read
  • Multiple power line towers stretch across a grassy field with trees in the background, under a partly cloudy sky.

    Virginia State Corporation Commission: Data Center Initiatives

    Read

ABOUT US

Data Center Neighbor is an independent initiative developing research, evidence and practical tools to help communities make better decisions about data center development.

Based in Loudoun County, Virginia, DCN draws on lessons from one of the world’s most established data center markets while learning from communities confronting development at earlier stages.

The goal is not to prescribe whether communities should accept or reject data center development. It is to establish clearer expectations for how communities can evaluate and shape development when they choose to host it.

Data Center Neighbor is developed and incubated by Bellwether Advisory, LLC.

Smiling woman with curly brown hair wearing a maroon blazer and black top against a gray background.

FROM ONE DATA CENTER NEIGHBOR

Casey J. Bell is a Data Center Neighbor living in Sterling, Virginia, less than three miles from the heart of Data Center Alley in Ashburn. She is also an economic development and impact measurement practitioner with nearly two decades of experience working at the intersection of community development, workforce development, utilities, energy and economic mobility.

Over her career, Casey has led strategy, impact measurement and program development efforts for nonprofit organizations, financial institutions and mission-driven enterprises. Her work has included designing outcome measurement frameworks, evaluating community investments, supporting workforce and small business initiatives and helping organizations translate complex systems into practical decision-making tools.

Contact Us & Join the Conversation

Working Through Data Center Growth? Put the Framework to Work

Whether your community is considering its first major project, experiencing rapid growth or managing an established data center market, we are interested in how these decisions are playing out on the ground.

Have an idea, critique, case example or opportunity to collaborate? Send us a note.