Across the US, data centers are being built at an unprecedented rate, threatening the climate, environment, community health and economic resiliency. BDCP harnesses the expertise of former federal workers to provide technical and capacity support to communities on the frontlines of data center development so they can win better environmental, climate, and economic outcomes.

Our careers, including at the US Department of Energy, have focused on addressing climate change while supporting communities and workers to shape how local development occurs and secure meaningful benefits. In early 2025, we watched climate programs being dismantled and investments and capacity shift towards AI data centers and fossil fuels. We also saw that gutting the federal government’s technical capacity, oversight, and regulatory protections would have big impacts on communities across the country. We – and many colleagues – wanted to continue public service related to climate change, environmental justice, and local resiliency, and data centers are now the fight of this decade when it comes to all of those things.

The AI data center industry is moving at an unprecedented pace and scale as some of the wealthiest companies in the world race to out-build one another. Massive, resource-intensive infrastructure is going up seemingly everywhere all at once, with a pervasive lack of transparency about what the projects are, the costs, and the impacts. The private sector and communities lack examples of development occurring transparently, with corporations paying their fair share, and without harming air, water and climate, while providing sustainable, local economic development and enforceable community-defined benefits.

A unique feature of AI data center development is that it touches so many facets of our lives: civil rights, democracy, water, land use, climate, public health, economics, jobs, and privacy. We are informed and inspired by leaders past and present – from the civil rights movement to youth climate activists to dedicated public servants in government – who understood that all of these issues are connected and who fought tirelessly so that each one of us could live full, free, vibrant lives.

In April 2025, a community in Jackson, MS learned a 760 MW natural‑gas plant – big enough to power multiple cities the size of Jackson – was being built next door solely to power a hyperscaler data center even though that firm and utility had promised to use 100% renewable energy. Residents also discovered that the state had passed a law giving billions in subsidies while stripping away standard regulatory oversight and price protections, allowing costs of the project to be passed to their families. The result is that Mississippi households, some of the nation’s poorest, will be subject to higher electric bills, worse air quality, and see little economic benefits or jobs.