Climate Mayors, Model Climate Laws Initiative, Sabin Center, and Climate XChange Release Model Laws to Help Cities and States Navigate Rapid Data Center Growth

New, legally-informed resources provide local and state leaders a framework for shaping responsible development that addresses data center impacts on energy, water, and land while centering communities and creating transparency

As data center development accelerates across the United States, Climate Mayors, the Model Climate Laws Initiative, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, and Climate XChange, today released two complementary resources, Model Local Law: A Framework for Responsible Data Center Development and Model State Law: Creating Low Emissions, Accountability, and New Generation Rules for Infrastructure and Data Center (CLEAN GRID) Act, designed to help state and local leaders understand the tools available to guide data center development in their communities. The model laws focus on five areas: siting and permitting, operational standards, transparency, planning, and community benefits. 

The growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented demand for data centers, bringing significant capital investment and potential tax revenue to communities. At the same time, these facilities are placing substantial demands on local electricity systems, water resources, land, and surrounding neighborhoods. For mayors and governors, the challenge isn't simply whether data centers come to their communities, but how communities can plan for growth and make informed decisions about where and how to build and operate these facilities.

“Mayors are on the front lines of the data center boom, balancing the potential economic benefits of new investment with very real questions about energy, water, land use, and quality of life for people,” said Kate Wright, Climate Mayors Executive Director. “Following the success of our Data Centers and the Climate Landscape guide, this model law framework gives local leaders another resource to ensure a responsible, community-aligned approach to data center development.”

The model laws provide a menu of legal and regulatory approaches that local and state governments can consider as they address data center development. It is designed for communities at different stages of the process—from cities and states anticipating new facilities to those already engaging with developers or seeking to understand developments in neighboring jurisdictions.

“Despite federal climate rollbacks and uncharted territory in the face of rapid data center production, state and local governments do have the power to shape the future of energy infrastructure," said Jon Binder, Executive Director of the Model Climate Laws Initiative. "Model laws like this and others through the Model Climate Law Initiative are designed to empower local leaders and inform how they responsibly respond to data center growth to protect consumers and resources."

“The rapid growth of data centers raises  pressing legal and policy questions for local governments across the country,” said Daniel Metzger, Director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center. “This model law will help communities better understand the range of local responses available and show a path toward adapting those tools to their own legal and policy environments.”

“Data center policy has been evolving at breakneck speed across the country over the last year,” said Paola Ferreira Miani, Executive Director of Climate XChange. “These models glean from the best proposals Climate XChange has tracked throughout our toolkit series on state-level data center regulation, as well as suggesting some forward-thinking terms that can help ensure that data center development supports state climate goals and delivers on community benefits.”

The model laws focus on:

• Siting and permitting: Establishes requirements for where data centers can be located and how projects move through state and local approval processes, including public notification, hearings, and assessments of water, energy, noise, and utility capacity.
• Operational standards: Provides standards for incorporating new renewable energy and storage, potable water use, groundwater, noise, landscaping and setbacks, building design, materials, and backup generators.
• Transparency: Establishes disclosure and public-access provisions related to water, stormwater, trees, noise, energy use, power purchase agreements, and grid impacts.
• Planning: Establishes a statewide Planning Commission tasked with assessing industry impacts, while identifying technical opportunities for data centers to support clean energy and efficiency, including by supporting thermal energy networks and virtual power plants.  
• Community benefits: Provides a framework for community benefits agreements addressing measurable local benefits, workforce and community investment, environmental mitigation, decommissioning, and enforcement.

The model laws release comes as cities and states across the country are confronting the local implications of an expanding data center industry, including impacts on electricity demand, water consumption, land use, infrastructure, and surrounding communities. Jurisdictions can use the resource to inform adoption of a standalone law, provisions into an existing code, or use individual components alongside other approaches to data center development, including moratoria and negotiated development agreements. These resources are designed strictly for informational and educational use; they do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any specific policy option. 

The local model law is available here: Model Local Law: A Framework for Responsible Data Center Development - Climate Mayors. 

The state model law is available here: State Law for Data Centers - Creating Low Emissions, Accountability, and New Generation Rules for Infrastructure and Data Center (CLEAN GRID) Act. 
 

About Climate Mayors

Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of mayors representing over 350 member cities, towns, and counties across the United States. Founded in 2014, the network spans 47 states and the District of Columbia and functions as a peer-to-peer coalition that helps members share effective climate strategies and build support for state and federal action.

About the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School develops legal techniques to address climate change and trains the next generation of climate lawyers. The Center provides timely information and resources on climate law and promotes advances in the interrelated fields of climate change law, environmental regulation, energy regulation, and natural resources law.

About the Model Climate Laws Initiative

The Model Climate Laws Initiative is a joint project of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School  and Environmental Advocates NY. The Initiative develops model legislation and legal resources to help policymakers at the state and local levels address climate change and advance effective climate policy.

About Climate XChange

Climate XChange is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing fair, science-backed climate policy at the state level. Their State Climate Policy Network connects thousands of policymakers and advocates from across the country, and their State Climate Policy Dashboard compiles states’ progress across 70+ policy areas in all 50 states.