OpenAI sets out data-centre commitments after 40 of 41 local ballots go against development

OpenAI published a set of commitments on Thursday governing how it builds data centres, two days after voters backed restrictions or rejected pro-development measures in all but one of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states, according to an analysis by Ballotpedia and additional results gathered by CNBC. The timing bears directly on the industry's central constraint: companies such as OpenAI depend on data centres to serve customers and develop new models, and are racing to build capacity, so planning votes and power costs now shape how quickly models can be trained and served.

For facilities it owns and operates, OpenAI said it will pay the full cost of power, solicit community input, publish construction plans and stay away from non-disclosure agreements with public officials; proprietary information would still be kept confidential. It also issued a policy blueprint urging policymakers to write similar commitments into law. "What we're doing with this blueprint is really laying out the best lessons that we have learned and committing to applying them as they go forward," Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, told reporters on Wednesday, saying the approach would help ensure "a very high floor". Lehane said the blueprint had been in the works since August and that he had met dozens of lawmakers and candidates since then.

The company is presenting the projects as durable employers. A facility in southern Ohio is expected to create 2,500 permanent jobs at an average annual salary of $80,000, Lehane said, arguing that installed equipment must be upgraded every three to five years. Partners such as Oracle build and own much of OpenAI's data-centre infrastructure, which is dedicated to the company. In February OpenAI told investors it targets $600bn in total compute spending by 2030, and it has since announced large projects in Georgia and Ohio. Greg Brockman, the company's president, said on Wednesday: "We need to do a better job of really explaining to people and local communities why data centres can be beneficial to them."

The electoral backdrop has shifted against the industry. In some of the bigger surprises of the midterms, Democrats won state-level races in Texas, Georgia and Ohio with candidates who promised to suspend new permits for data centres and tighten construction rules, and shares in data-centre operators and power companies fell on Wednesday as investors bet on stricter licensing, higher costs and a slower building pace. OpenAI executives have spent two years cultivating ties with the Trump administration; Sam Altman donated $1m to the inauguration committee, and Brockman gave $25m personally to a pro-Trump super PAC. Asked about scepticism among Democrats, Lehane cited his own experience within the party. He said the current conversations were meant to build momentum before the new Congress sits in late January.