OpenAI pledges data center community commitments, drops NDAs with public officials

Following significant voter backlash in the November 2026 midterm elections, OpenAI announced its National Community Compact and a policy blueprint detailing commitments for its future data centers. OpenAI pledged to eliminate non-disclosure agreements with public officials, fully fund electricity and grid upgrades, and publish site data on water, power, noise, and expected jobs. OpenAI also called on lawmakers to mandate these transparency and infrastructure funding practices industry-wide.

Community Compact details and local investments

• ▪OpenAI committed to publish water and energy usage data, construction plans, and independent noise projections prior to beginning operations at new data center sites
• ▪OpenAI pledged to publish expected job creation figures for each data center project to assist local labor unions and training providers in resident preparation
• ▪OpenAI announced its National Community Compact on November 5, 2026, establishing local agreements and annual public reporting for future self-owned data centers, rebranded as compute campuses

Power grid protection commitments

• ▪OpenAI committed to operating a flexible data center model that reduces power draw during periods of peak grid demand to prevent strain on local utility infrastructure
• ▪OpenAI pledged to fully cover all electricity costs and grid infrastructure upgrades required for its owned data centers, providing financial assurances to protect local rate-payers from project cancellation or delay costs

Transparency and non-disclosure agreement policies

• ▪OpenAI voided a non-disclosure agreement with public officials in Effingham County, Georgia, in July 2026
• ▪OpenAI pledged to eliminate non-disclosure agreements with public officials during discussions about its data center projects, allowing exceptions only for legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary data
• ▪Amazon announced in October 2026 that it would cease using non-disclosure agreements with government agencies regarding data center projects

Industry-wide policy recommendations

• ▪OpenAI's policy paper asked governments to disclose tax incentives publicly with clawback provisions and urged Congress to restore clean-electricity tax credits
• ▪OpenAI published a policy blueprint urging lawmakers to codify limits on data center non-disclosure agreements and mandate that developers fully pay for electricity and grid infrastructure costs across the artificial intelligence industry

Midterm elections and political backlash

• ▪Democrats secured control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in the 2026 midterm elections while campaigning on platform support for data center construction curbs
• ▪Democratic candidates won 2026 gubernatorial races in Texas and Georgia after campaigning on pledges to pause new data center permits and tighten construction rules
• ▪OpenAI's November 5, 2026 community commitments followed November 3, 2026 midterm elections where voters in at least 38 jurisdictions approved ballot measures restricting or limiting artificial intelligence data center expansion