Corporate Grid‑Cost Pledges

Large cloud and AI firms may increasingly respond to local opposition by voluntarily shouldering the operating electricity costs and rejecting tax abatements for data centers. This is a strategic shift from seeking local tax incentives toward buying social license through direct fiscal and environmental commitments (paying full power costs, water‑replenishment promises, efficiency targets). — If adopted across the sector, these pledges change who pays for grid upgrades, alter municipal fiscal deals, and recast industrial policy — turning local opposition into a lever that forces firms to internalize community externalities.