We come in peace, OpenAI tells locals near gargantuan Stargate facilities

OpenAI wants every Stargate datacenter campus to come with its own community plan reflecting "local concerns," including a commitment not to cause a hike in electricity prices, minimizing water use, and protecting local ecosystems.

The Stargate project, launched almost exactly a year ago, aims to spend as much as $500 billion on infrastructure to power AI development over the next several years.

However, datacenter projects have been facing increasing opposition from local communities, especially massive projects such as those at Stargate's site Abilene, Texas, where ten buildings each covering half a million square feet are being constructed.

Such developments can dominate the landscape, and communities living in their shadow have complained about noise, the amount of water and energy they might consume, and that they tend not to create many long-term local jobs.

Research org Data Center Watch reported that 20 US server farm projects were blocked or delayed ...