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On November 5, 2026, OpenAI released a national community compact and a policy blueprint for compute campuses. According to cnBeta, of 41 local ballot propositions across 10 U.S. states, only one won voter support, while the rest supported restricting data centers or rejecting development proposals; OpenAI subsequently released a policy platform pledging to bear the electricity costs of its data centers itself and to protect electricity-paying groups. OpenAI's global affairs chief Chris Lehane said the platform had been in preparation since August and that the company had met with dozens of lawmakers and candidates. Cailianshe reported the same day that OpenAI announced that in future negotiations over new data center sites it will no longer sign confidentiality agreements with government officials, and that residents can review construction plans and learn about the project's impact on traffic, noise and lighting; Lehane said a facility in southern Ohio is expected to create 2,500 long-term jobs with an average annual salary of $80,000.
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Nov 5
Cailian Press
OpenAI promises to increase transparency in data center site selection, responding to public resistance after the midterm elections
OpenAI announced that going forward, when negotiating new data center sites, it will no longer sign confidentiality agreements with government officials, and residents can review construction plans and learn about the project's impact on traffic, noise, and lighting. Of the 41 local data center ballot measures voted on the same day as the U.S. midterm elections, 40 outcomes were unfavorable to data centers; Democrats won governorships in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio, and all three candidates promised during their campaigns to pause or conditionally pause new data center construction. OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said a facility in southern Ohio is expected to create 2,500 permanent jobs with an average annual salary of $80,000.
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The Decoder
After Midterm Election Setbacks, OpenAI Launches Community Commitments to Win Support for Data Centers
After the U.S. midterm elections, OpenAI released its "National Community Compact" and policy blueprint, pledging that at its self-built and self-operated sites it will stop requiring local negotiators to sign nondisclosure agreements, bear all electricity and grid upgrade costs, throttle usage during peak periods and publicly disclose construction plans, noise studies, and water usage data. These commitments apply only to future self-built and self-operated sites, while much of OpenAI's data center infrastructure is built and owned by partners such as Oracle. In the elections, 40 of 41 local ballot measures rejected new data center construction; the new governor of Texas has called for a pause on new facilities, and Data Center Watch says that in Q2 2026, 45 projects worth $88 billion have stalled due to local opposition.
cnBeta
US states reject data center proposals in ballot votes; OpenAI pledges to bear electricity costs itself
Of 41 local ballot proposals across 10 US states, only one won voter support; the rest backed restricting data centers or rejecting development proposals. OpenAI subsequently released a policy platform pledging to bear data center electricity costs itself and protect electricity ratepayers. Global affairs chief Chris Lehane said the platform had been in preparation since August and that the company had met with dozens of lawmakers and candidates. In February this year, OpenAI told investors it aims to invest a cumulative total of about $600 billion in computing power by 2030.
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Unite.AI
OpenAI Releases Community Compact and Compute Campus Policy Blueprint
On November 5, 2026, OpenAI released a national community compact and compute campus policy blueprint, committing that the campuses it builds and operates in the future will bear the full cost of electricity and infrastructure. The compact requires each campus to develop a localized version, solicit residents' opinions in advance through questionnaires, hearings, and other means, establish a long-term liaison, and publicly disclose progress annually; during the construction and operation phases, it must disclose plans for traffic, noise, and lighting impacts, commission an independent noise study before operation and annually thereafter, disclose site water and electricity data, and not require public officials to sign confidentiality agreements. The policy blueprint recommends that state public utility commissions establish large-load electricity rates, require large electricity users to bear their added grid costs, and calls on the federal government to accelerate generation and transmission permitting and expand technology-neutral clean electricity tax incentives.
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