Good Neighbor Standard
What makes a data center a good neighbor?
This is not a political score or a ranking. It is an accountability framework. For each of thirteen categories it sets out what residents may want to know, what can be disclosed, how it can be measured, what residents can ask, which public records may exist, and which commitments a developer may voluntarily make. The standard does not characterize any company as good or bad; it describes what a good-neighbor process looks like.
The six lenses
Every category is examined the same way.
Worked example
Power
The remaining twelve categories follow this exact structure. Each is published as its own page with citation cards.
- Residents may want to know
- How much power the facility will draw, whether new generation or lines are needed, and whether their own bills will be affected.
- Can be disclosed
- Requested capacity, phasing, the utility serving the site, the tariff or contract structure, and the cost-allocation terms for upgrades.
- Possible measurements
- Contracted megawatts; annual megawatt-hours; peak-demand contribution; upgrade costs by payer; rate impact estimates filed with regulators.
- Questions residents can ask
- Who pays for required grid upgrades? Is there a minimum-take or exit provision that protects other customers if the facility leaves?
- Public records that may exist
- Utility commission dockets, large-load tariff filings, integrated resource plans, interconnection agreements, and the local permit file.
- Voluntary commitments
- Publishing actual consumption annually; funding upgrades directly; agreeing to rate-protection terms; participating in demand-response programs.
The standard is a set of questions and disclosures, not a verdict. Residents, officials and developers can all use it.
We need your help now.
Data center decisions are being made this fall in county chambers and utility dockets across the country. Your contribution puts sourced information, a public survey and a project-by-project record in front of the people who will live with them.