Marketplace Tech · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
While data centers can impose localized harms such as higher energy costs and noise pollution, the NYU report suggests community benefit agreements can help. These agreements could involve direct payments for environmental mitigation or workforce development, potentially offsetting negative impacts.
“The proposed, the purported benefits of data center construction are all mostly collective goods. Better innovation, better global competitiveness for the US. But all of the harms are localized and specific communities. Higher energy costs like on your energy bills, environmental harm in your communities, noise pollution from the data center down the street. Lower property values.”
“So data centers need to do a better job of rethinking their role and think more about just how can they actually benefit the communities where they're located.”