Neutral facilitation for contested infrastructure
Trust is earned, never given.
When a data center is proposed, CommonWatts runs an open process between the community and the developer. We don’t take sides. We help everyone reach a decision the community can live with and the developer can build on.
Where we stand
We don’t work for the developer. We don’t work for the community. We run a fair process between them.
That matters. A firm hired to argue for one side builds a better argument. A firm that runs a fair process helps people reach a better decision: one that holds up through the vote, the lawsuits, the next election, and the twenty years the data center runs after that.
Here is how it usually works. Either side can hire us, but in most cases the developer pays. We say that up front, because the money doesn’t buy the result. We are paid the same whether the project is approved or not. We publish who is paying us, and on what terms, before the first public meeting. And the whole process happens in public.
A clear, fair process for your community
For county and city leaders, planning and zoning boards, regional development groups, and residents facing a proposed data center.
- Find out which issues are still unresolved and up for discussion
- Set siting rules before any developer files an application
- Independent experts the community chooses, paid for by the developer
- Commitments that still apply years after the project opens
Approvals that hold up
For developers who want an approval that lasts and a community that accepts the project.
- Talk to the community before the project goes public, while trust is still possible
- Both sides agree on one set of facts instead of arguing over competing studies
- Promises with real follow-through, not forecasts people argue about
- Less risk of lawsuits, reversed votes and moratoriums
The four tenets
Everything we do rests on four principles. They are simple to say, hard to live up to, and they come with trade-offs. That is the point.
Listen first
We start with curiosity. What is this community’s history? How does it see itself? What does it want for its future? And who does it actually trust to speak for it? That is rarely the loudest person at the microphone.
Be an open book
You should know us as well as we know you: why we took the work, how we see our role, what we are trying to achieve, and who is paying us and how much. We publish all of it before the first public meeting. You do not have to ask.
Put in the work
Good results take serious effort. A complicated issue only becomes simple when no stone has been left unturned. Knowing the details is what shows what is possible. Most of what we add is careful homework nobody else has done.
Be helpful
We go beyond what is expected. We gather information, track down what nobody knows yet, and connect the dots so people can make good decisions for themselves.
How we work
Five steps, from the first call to a signed agreement.
Intake
We learn the facts, meet the people involved, and find out which issues are still open.
Standards
The local government sets clear siting rules, ideally before any developer applies.
Workshops
Residents, officials and the developer work through the open issues in structured sessions.
Negotiated terms
Both sides agree on specific commitments, with numbers and dates.
Documentation and hand-off
We write it all down, publish it, and set up follow-through. Then we step away.
The numbers behind the problem
Since 2024, many data center projects have stalled. Usually the problem was not that communities were told too little. They were told too late, by someone with a stake in the answer, about decisions already made. That can be fixed. Fixing it is our job.
Since January 2026, more than 270 U.S. communities have adopted data center moratoria.
Sources: CRE Daily; TechRadar
In just three months, local opposition blocked or delayed $130 billion in data center projects, as much as in all of 2025.
Sources: PYMNTS; Let’s Data Science
71% of Americans oppose a data center in their area. That’s more than oppose a nearby nuclear plant.
Sources: Implicator; Route Fifty
From fewer than 400 to more than 800 in a single year: community groups organizing around data centers have doubled.
Source: AI Weekly
A bad process does not just cost one project. It can mean years of lawsuits and local rules that last a decade. And the next board or council, after an election, inherits the fight.
Insights
Notes on the work, published as we go.
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From Red Carpet to Pitchforks
Six years ago communities competed for these projects. Now they organize against them. Scale explains part of it — and not the most important part.
Start a conversation
Tell us where the project is, who is involved, and how far along it is. A short call is usually enough to see whether we are the right fit.
nathan@commonwatts.com