Build fast. Build right. Prove it can be done.

New data centers should prioritize using the cleanest energy options on the market. Most of the rhetoric around AI and the environment focuses on the harms. Little is said about what these facilities can do for the environment. AI is paving the way for energy sources cleaner than ever before. Leading projects today use on-site clean power, recycled cooling water, and near-zero criteria pollutants — meaning cleaner air, minimal water use, and quieter operations for surrounding communities. These clean on-site power sources have set and must continue to be the standard.

These same clean-energy systems already operate in hospitals, universities, and technology campuses nationwide. Efforts to curtail AI innovation are, in practice, efforts to curtail cleaner energy development that powers these critical functions. AI won't be earth's downfall — it's a tool to build the planet-saving technologies of the future.

Water has been a sticking point since the early days of AI development. What many people don't know: significant progress has been made, and energy sources that use minimal water are already running at facilities around the nation. America has access to power sources that don't require water to operate day-to-day. To maintain our innovation rate, these systems must become the standard for data center power going forward.

Data centers require massive power loads. New large-scale facilities should be required to be self-powered or bring new generation online rather than draw from existing capacity — and the leaders already are. Nearly one-third of all new data center capacity being planned today is designed to operate entirely off the public grid. Above a certain load threshold, that should be the standard.

AI and data centers are the single biggest drivers of new electricity generation in decades — nuclear, grid upgrades, fuel cells, and innovations not yet commercially available. They don't just consume power; they bring the investment capital communities and utilities have lacked to modernize aging grids, lowering long-term electricity costs for consumers.

As data centers grow more prevalent, so must the benefits to the communities they're built in. The cleanest, safest technology must be the standard — shortcuts and dated technology won't build support. The American people must be active participants: data centers need local employees, and when citizens are part of the equation, these facilities feel like less of a threat and more of a partner.

Above all, responsible data centers are rooted in transparency. Communities must be part of the process from the beginning, and the companies behind these facilities must be held to the highest standards. That starts with fair-share rules: facilities must commit to enough new clean energy to support self-sufficiency, and residents must be shielded from added costs.

Transparency also means visibility — community members deserve access to reporting on energy and water use. Numbers kept in the shadows create resistance to progress. And fair community benefit agreements must become standard, with real commitments to addressing environmental and noise impacts.