OpenAI publishes a National Community Compact and Compute Campus Policy Blueprint
OpenAI published a National Community Compact, which sets out what communities can expect at future compute campuses it owns and operates, and a Compute Campus Policy Blueprint, which proposes rules for federal, state and local policymakers. It builds on the January Stargate Community commitments and site-specific commitments in Georgia and Ohio.
Commitments in the compact
Each future campus will get its own local compact, early resident engagement, a local point of contact and an annual public report, with these common commitments:
- Energy and infrastructure: Pay the full cost of the electricity used and the infrastructure needed to serve it, with financial assurances before major spending so other customers are protected if a project is delayed, reduced or canceled.
- Local resources: A water plan for each campus, prioritizing closed-loop or low-water cooling; site-level water and electricity use published; construction plans and independent noise studies published before operations and annually afterward; no NDAs with public officials, apart from narrow protections for security information, trade secrets or competitively sensitive information.
- Local opportunity: Publish expected jobs, work with unions and training providers, report annually on hiring and apprenticeships, and make sustained investments in priorities residents select. Examples: a $4.8 million grant for free school meals for all 14,000 students in Effingham County, Georgia, and a joint $6 million childcare commitment with SB Energy in Pike County, Ohio.
Policy blueprint
- State utility commissions should make large customers cover the costs they add to the grid and protect others if a project fails. Utilities should ease connection for campuses that can cut demand when power is scarce; OpenAI cites its Georgia Power agreement allowing up to 1,000 MW of reduction at the Effingham campus.
- Public reporting on water, energy, noise and hiring, narrow limits on NDAs for public officials, and public tax-incentive terms with measurable commitments and clawbacks.
- Early sharing of purchasing plans for local suppliers, and hiring forecasts so employers, building trades unions and community colleges can train residents.
- Congress is asked to speed transmission upgrades and restore and expand tax incentives for clean electricity.