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Planning during a data center pause: What communities need to know
Communities voted to restrict data center buildout. Local economic analysis can help shape what comes next.
Cities and counties across the country have paused new data center projects. On Election Day, voters approved nearly every local ballot measure to restrict development. In the Pacific Northwest, Oregon has paused state environmental permits for new and expanded data centers through July 2027, and Hillsboro and Salem have adopted temporary pauses of their own.
A pause has an end date. When it ends, local leaders will need a position they can defend on whether to allow data centers, where, on what terms, and at whose cost. Many of those questions are economic, and local data can answer them while the pause is in place.
Why local numbers matter
Developers arrive with their own studies: jobs projections, tax revenue estimates, and water and power plans. Communities often have no numbers of their own to test them against.
Independent research shows why that matters. Data centers frequently create fewer permanent jobs than promised. Brookings estimates net employment gains of roughly 100 to 200 jobs in a typical host county. Tax exemptions can offset much of the revenue a facility brings in. And the water demand associated with a data center's power generation can be many times larger than what the facility uses on site.
A pause gives communities time to build their own evidence before the next proposal arrives.
Questions to answer before a pause ends
What would data centers bring, and what would they cost? Construction and operating jobs, local spending, tax revenue, the payback on tax abatements, and public-service costs.
Who would benefit, and who would pay? How benefits and costs fall across neighborhoods, ratepayers, income groups, and tribal interests.
What would water and power demands cost locally? Infrastructure and capacity costs, who funds them, the water used to generate purchased power, and the cost of seasonal shortfalls.
What else could the land and water do? The opportunity cost of a data center compared with other uses of the site.
Which policy tools fit? Large-load rates, impact fees, abatement limits, water reporting, and permit conditions, and what each would cost the city, developers, and residents.
What should a deal require? The value of proposed community commitments, how they compare with terms other communities obtained, and how to track them over time.
Information everyone can use
Good data only helps if people can use it. The most useful economic analysis keeps documented values separate from estimates, shows ranges where inputs are uncertain, and lets staff, elected officials, and residents compare alternatives side by side.
When communities have good information and a seat at the table, they can bargain from a better position. That holds whether the outcome is a new ordinance, a negotiated agreement, or a decision not to proceed.
How Greene Economics can help
Not every community needs the same depth of analysis. Support can take different forms to fit each community’s needs and the length of its pause.
Landscape scan. A short memo, built from existing data, that frames the local stakes and identifies what to study before the pause ends.
Full evaluation. A baseline, buildout scenarios, and a comparison of policy options, delivered in a report and a briefing for elected officials.
Ordinance and deal support. Economic results that code writers and negotiators can use once a community chooses a policy direction.
Greene Economics is a women-owned environmental economics consulting firm based in Washington State. Our expertise spans economic and fiscal impact analysis, natural resource and water economics, and opportunity cost analysis. We measure what a decision would cost a community, what it would bring, and who would gain or pay. Clients include cities, counties, ports, state agencies, tribes, and nonprofits.
Our team can help with:
Economic and fiscal baselines for data center proposals
How benefits and costs fall across ratepayers, neighborhoods, and tribal interests
The local cost of water and power demand, including the water behind purchased power
Comparisons of policy tools, from large-load rates to water reporting and permit conditions
Valuing and monitoring community benefit commitments
Interactive decision tools for staff, elected officials, and residents
Our interactive decision tools help clients compare alternatives and understand tradeoffs. They map decision pathways, distinguish documented values from estimates, and show ranges where inputs are uncertain. For regional economic impact analysis, we use IMPLAN and RIMS II. We also partner with engineers, hydrogeologists, planners, and attorneys for physical studies, code drafting, and legal questions.
To discuss how your community can use a pause, contact Bea Covington. Below, download an overview of how we support data center decisions.
