FAQs
The questions we are asked most often, answered plainly.
FAQs
What does CommonWatts do?
We run a fair, open process when a data center is proposed. We plan and lead the conversations between the developer, the local government and residents. We are not a public relations firm, and we do not represent either side. What we deliver is a process people can trust and a decision that holds up.
Are you for or against data centers?
Neither. We are neutral on whether any project should be approved. We are not neutral on whether a claim is true. We correct the record in both directions, in public, on the same page.
Who can hire you — developers or communities?
Either side can pay for the work. Neither side gets an advocate. We offer the same services no matter who called. What changes is who pays and how, and we publish that. We will never act for one side against the other in the same dispute, or write materials arguing for anyone.
How are you paid, and doesn’t that compromise your neutrality?
It is the right question, and we have a whole page on it. In most cases the developer pays. Here is why that does not buy the outcome: we are paid the same whether the project is approved or not. The money goes into a separate account (escrow) up front, so no one can cut us off midway. We take no follow-on work from either side. And we publish who pays us, and how much, before the first public meeting. The setup we prefer: the developer pays, and the local government hires us, directs us, and receives our work.
Your founder worked for a data center developer. Why should a community trust you?
Because we told you up front, instead of leaving you to find out. That experience helps. It means we know what a developer can really agree to, and we will tell a community when a request is realistic and when it is not. It is also a fair question about independence. That is why the terms on the “How we’re paid” page exist, and why we publish the jobs we turn down.
What if our community doesn’t want a data center at all?
That is a legitimate position, and we will say so. But we will not tell a community it has power it does not have. In much of Texas, for example, a project on unincorporated county land (outside any city) cannot be zoned out. Pretending otherwise wastes a year that could be spent negotiating the operating conditions that will matter for thirty. We would rather tell you that early.
What’s a community benefit agreement, and are they worth pursuing?
It is a set of promises a developer makes to the community that hosts the project. It can cover roads and utilities, taxes, environmental protections, local jobs, public services or direct investment. These agreements are worth pursuing, and easy to get wrong. The common mistake is a generous package that cannot be enforced: gifts, not conditions. We focus on the terms: numbers instead of adjectives, money set aside as a guarantee instead of verbal assurances, paybacks if milestones are missed, and obligations that pass to whoever owns the facility next.
What happens after an agreement is signed?
The years after approval are where trust is really won or lost, and it is the part everyone underfunds. We help set up reporting, public tracking, independent checks, renegotiation triggers and a way to settle disputes. We build them before anyone needs them, because adding them later is how they end up unenforceable.
Do you guarantee a project will be approved, or stopped?
No. Anyone who does is selling something. Good engagement produces a decision people can defend and a community that can live with it. It does not guarantee agreement, and it is not a shortcut to a permit.
Will you tell us things we don’t want to hear?
Yes. That is most of the value. If the evidence on something is thin, we will say so. If a community’s real complaint is with the utility rather than the project, we will say that too. And if we think a job is set up to create a paper trail instead of a real process, we will turn it down in writing and explain why.
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