About
Why CommonWatts exists, and the experience behind it.
Why CommonWatts exists
I founded CommonWatts because communities and data center developers need something other than public relations. They need someone who understands energy, knows how these projects actually get built, and recognizes that community concerns cannot be handled with a presentation delivered after the important decisions have already been made.
Where I come from, stated plainly
I was Head of Partnerships and Public Engagement at Aston, a powered-land developer specializing in sites for AI data centers. I know how a site moves from first evaluation to development, and why community engagement often determines whether it succeeds or fails.
My background is an asset, because I know what a developer can and cannot say yes to, and I can tell a community when an ask is realistic and when it isn’t.
Before Aston, I spent more than a decade in community-first project development. As Chief Operating Officer of Edelen Renewables I helped build Social Impact Solar, one of the first community-first development models in the energy industry, built on the idea that energy projects should create value for the places that host them — and that community benefit belongs in a project’s design rather than being introduced when opposition appears.
I am also managing director and half owner of Edelen Renewables Community Solar, where I run Farmers Powering Communities, a partnership with American Farmland Trust that lets farmers keep harvesting crops on land that also produces solar energy. It is the kind of practical compromise that has shaped my whole career: development and preservation are not always opposing choices when people are willing to listen and work at it.
Disclosure: my ongoing interests in Edelen Renewables Community Solar are unrelated to data center development. They are listed here, and in full on every engagement page, because you should not have to go looking.
What I learned that shaped this firm
Opposition to these projects is rarely just a communications problem. Communities have legitimate questions about power, water, noise, taxes, infrastructure, jobs, transparency, and who ends up carrying the risk. Developers face real constraints that are poorly understood outside the industry. Durable solutions start by acknowledging both of those things are true.
Data centers should be built with communities, not imposed on them. I work with developers willing to engage early, listen honestly, and make real compromises. I work with communities willing to evaluate a project on its merits and pursue solutions that protect what matters locally.
My approach is community-first, not anti-data center. Every project and community is different, so I take each on its own facts. Where common ground exists, I help both sides find it. Where it doesn’t, I help everyone make a better decision than they would have made otherwise — including, sometimes, the decision to walk away.
I cannot guarantee the desired outcome. But I can guarantee a nearly perfect process and a defensible decision.
Start a conversation
Tell us where the project is, who is involved, and what stage it has reached. A short conversation is usually enough to work out whether this is the kind of thing we do.
info@commonwatts.com