What should a community ask about a data centre?

The short answer

A useful conversation starts with a shared case file, not a shared opinion. Ask what is proposed, who decides, what evidence exists, what is promised, what is conditional and what has actually been delivered. The same questions should help a resident scrutinise a claim, a council prepare a decision and a builder explain a project without asking anyone to support or oppose it.

1. Name the evidence state

Keep dates, phases and units beside each claim. An announcement about a campus is not automatically evidence about every building, and a missing field means not recorded here, not zero.

What does a moratorium vote settle?

A proposed pause, a recorded vote and an operative moratorium are different evidence states. Before treating a pause as applying to a project, obtain the published operative text and its effective-date record. Ask what it covers: new applications, rezoning, permits or expansions; any load or size threshold; whether applications already lodged are exempt; when it ends; and what could end it early. A pause is not itself a decision on the merits of a particular project.

For examples with different evidence and limits, read the recorded actions in Oklahoma City, Center Point and Oakland. These accounts do not establish that existing compute services have stopped. If you need compute now, use Find compute to compare routes, then confirm current availability and workload requirements with the provider.

2. Build one shared case file

• Identity. What is the project called, where is it, who proposes it, who owns it and who would operate it?
• Stage. Is it announced, in planning, permitted, under construction or operating? What dated source supports that exact stage?
• Scale. Does each figure describe IT load, facility load, a grid connection or another measure? Which phase and date does it cover?
• Decision route. Which authority or regulator decides, what is the reference number and where are the formal documents?
• Participation route. Who can comment, by when, in what form and how will responses be considered?

Find the project people recognise

Results are limited to detailed site records. Finding a name does not establish that the record is complete, that permission is current or that the project has community support.

Start with the detailed site records, their field coverage, the policy register and place rules checker. These pages show what ComputeFinder has recorded and what is still missing. They do not replace the formal planning file.

3. Questions about infrastructure and local costs

Investigating a South African proposal? The heritage-information route and its limits reaches the official SAHRIS site and authority context. It does not establish a project record, permission or live commenting deadline.

• Power and grid. What connection is requested, for which phase and date? Who pays for reinforcement? Could conditions change when and how the site uses power? Read the large-load grid rules and the power guide.
• Water and cooling. What cooling system is proposed in normal and extreme conditions? What direct water would be used, from which source, with what seasonal limit and what reporting after operation?
• Noise, land and ecology. What is measured at the site boundary, at which times and under what operating case? What land, habitat, drainage, traffic and construction effects are assessed?
• Public and household costs. Which infrastructure costs sit with the developer, network users, taxpayers or others? Which source explains the allocation?
• Alternatives. What other site, design, scale, timing or operating approach was considered, and why was this option chosen?

4. Questions about conditional opportunity

• Jobs and skills. How many roles are construction, permanent or indirect? What skills, pay, residence and reporting conditions sit behind the number?
• Heat reuse. Is there a named user, network, temperature, funded connection and delivery date, or only technical potential?
• Local compute access. Is any capacity, training, research access or supplier opportunity reserved for local institutions or small organisations? On what terms?
• Infrastructure investment. Which grid, transport, digital or civic improvement is additional, funded and available beyond the project?
• Community benefit. Who defines the benefit, who is eligible, how long does it last and what happens if the project changes hands or misses a milestone?

Record each item as proposed, committed or delivered. A possibility is worth investigating, but it is not yet a benefit. A commitment needs a responsible party, conditions, a date and evidence of delivery.

5. Put wider evidence in its place

Wider research can reveal assumptions and help people ask better questions, but it cannot settle one planning decision. Each curated record below preserves the source's scope, method, uncertainty, interests and local limits before its findings enter a community conversation.

• United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Published 18 June 2026 · scenario evidence
• Key Questions on Energy and AI International Energy Agency · Published 16 April 2026 · scenario evidence
• Cooling Water Efficiency Opportunities for Federal Data Centers U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Management Program · Published null · guidance evidence
• 24/7 Hourly Matching of Electricity U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Published null · guidance evidence
• UK Export Finance: Economic impacts of our support 2024 to 2025 UK Export Finance · Published 2025-07-17 · modelled evidence
• The MHCLG Appraisal Guide: employment-method scope Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Published null · guidance evidence
• Energy Consumption in Data Centres and Broadband Communication Networks in the EU European Commission Joint Research Centre · Published 2024-02-16 · modelled evidence

Ask which local evidence would confirm, challenge or bound the wider finding. If that evidence is missing, write unknown rather than borrowing a national or global conclusion.

6. Questions about accountability

• Which conditions and commitments will be published in one place after the decision?
• Who measures power, water, noise, jobs and other promised outcomes, using what method and reporting period?
• What is the route for a concern, correction or breach after construction starts?
• Which material changes require a new decision or another participation window?
• When will the case file be reviewed, and who records whether each commitment is unmet, in progress or delivered?

7. A meeting-ready checklist

• Bring the exact project name, location, phase and decision reference.
• Mark every statement as proposal, commitment, permission, construction, operation or delivered outcome.
• Put the source and date beside every material number or promise.
• Write unknown beside unanswered questions. Do not turn missing evidence into zero, no impact or no concern.
• Separate questions that need the developer, planning authority, grid operator, regulator or an independent expert.
• End with named next steps, owners, evidence required and dates for review.

What this guide cannot tell you

It does not decide whether a project should proceed, establish local consent, verify a particular promise or replace planning, legal, engineering or environmental advice. It is a structure for asking better questions and keeping claims inspectable. Published disagreement should be attributed and dated; private residents and private submissions should stay private.

Sources

• Data centre records: each recorded project fact retains its source, date and stage limits.
• Detailed-record coverage: shows which structured fields are recorded or missing across the current subset.
• Policy register, large-load grid rules and country profiles: each published rule or instrument links to its existing source.
• Corrections: provide evidence for a wrong or missing public record without publishing private contact details.
• Research and claims in context: see how broader evidence is classified, checked and kept within its limits.