About This Project

Close the private-benefit/public-cost gap in AI data center buildout through two linked regulatory mechanisms that can be adopted by any utility regulator without new federal legislation. Mechanism 1: Facility-Level Disclosure as a Condition of Interconnection Require any data center load above 50MW to file, as a condition of grid interconnection approval, a standardized disclosure covering: (a) projected hourly electricity draw (not just annual average), (b) water consumption for cooling, (c) backup/on-site generation fuel type and capacity, (d) hourly-matched clean energy procurement plan (not annual offset accounting), and (e) grid upgrade costs attributable to the facility with a clear allocation between the facility and ratepayers. This mirrors environmental impact assessment requirements already standard in permitting — it's an established regulatory instrument, just newly applied to compute infrastructure. Mechanism 2: Dedicated Large-Load Rate Classes Create a new utility rate class specifically for hyperscale compute loads that includes: (a) a grid-upgrade cost recovery mechanism that charges the facility directly for dedicated transmission/distribution upgrades rather than socializing them across all ratepayers, (b) a minimum take-or-pay commitment matched to the facility's stated capacity needs, preventing utilities from over-building generation capacity speculatively, and (c) demand response requirements — facilities must be able to curtail non-critical compute load during system stress events, in exchange for lower base rates. Why this is implementable now: Georgia Power and Dominion Energy (Virginia) have already begun experimenting with large-load tariff structures in response to AI-driven demand growth — this formalizes and standardizes an emerging regulatory practice rather than inventing something new. State public utility commissions have clear authority to create new rate classes without federal action, making this achievable on a 12-18 month timeline in willing states, with faster spread through utility commissioner associations (NARUC) sharing model tariff language. The hourly-matching requirement for clean energy claims directly closes the greenwashing loophole — a facility claiming '100% clean energy' via annual renewable energy certificate purchases while running on fossil backup power 60% of actual hours would be required to disclose this gap, creating market and reputational pressure to actually solve the intermittency problem with storage or firm clean generation rather than paper accounting.

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