The Community Grid Compact (CGC) turns a share of data center investment into solar, battery storage, and grid resilience for the communities that host them.
Focus states: Virginia · Texas · Georgia · Arizona · North Carolina
The CGC package has materials for every stakeholder. Start where you are.
Your community is facing a data center proposal. Here's how to negotiate real, lasting energy benefits, not just a tax check.
See what communities get →A codifiable, replicable standard that addresses the two concerns constituents raise most: electricity rates and grid strain.
See the legislative framework →66% of protested projects were blocked or delayed in 2025. A 1% fund contribution is a bounded, predictable path to approval.
See the business case →The CGC VPP combines battery+solar, battery+heat pump DR, and smart thermostat demand response into a layered grid asset that defers costly distribution upgrades and returns revenue to communities.
See the grid benefits →Opposition has surged to 70–75% nationally, crossing all party lines. The data is clear: communities oppose a bad bargain, not development itself. Direct benefits are the answer.
The opposition is to a bad bargain — not to development itself
The three leading community concerns
The legislative response is accelerating
Enacted Law Validation
New Jersey Data Center Fair Share Act (Signed July 7, 2026)
New Jersey became the first state in the nation to enact a comprehensive data center accountability law — creating a new ratepayer class, requiring cost ring-fencing, and mandating demand flexibility. The law validates the CGC's core cost causation principle. But it creates no direct community energy benefits. No solar. No batteries. No VPP revenue flowing to households. The CGC fills that gap.
Pennsylvania HB 2650 (passed House June 2026, pending Senate) goes further — requiring a community benefit agreement as a condition of state tax incentives. Even ALEC, the conservative free-market policy organization, published a model policy requiring data centers to bear costs rather than shift them to households. Watch this space.
This isn't about punishment. It's a co-investment in the grid, aligning developer, community, utility, and policymaker interests. Independently validated by The Brattle Group and NRDC (June 2026).
One agreement. One fund. Deployed as community energy assets. Aggregated into a VPP.
A legally binding agreement, negotiated with meaningful community representation, that requires the developer to contribute approximately 1% of total project investment to the Community Energy Fund. The contribution rate is negotiable.
An independently governed co-investment fund, nested in a state green bank where available. The developer has no governance role after contributing. Community-controlled. No developer strings.
Package 1: Battery + Solar. Flagship — maximum bill savings and VPP capacity.
Package 2: Battery + Heat Pump. Heat pump also provides demand response via pre-conditioning.
Package 3: Efficiency Package. Plug-in solar + smart thermostat + weatherization. For renters and structurally limited homes.
Package 4: Grid Flexibility. Smart thermostat + DR enrollment. No rooftop work. Renter-eligible. $80/kW-yr — lowest-cost VPP measure.
All systems — batteries, heat pumps, and thermostats — enroll in a community VPP. Third-party aggregator access ensures it works even where local utilities don't offer a program. 70% of grid services revenue returns to participants. 15% recycles into the fund.
The fund covers more for households that need it most. By co-investing with market-rate participants, the same fund dollar deploys significantly more capacity.
At or below 80% Area Median Income. $0 upfront. Categorical eligibility: SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, or utility assistance enrollment qualifies automatically. No paperwork required.
80% to 120% AMI. 25% participant contribution, covered through fund-administered financing or VPP revenue sharing. No upfront cost required if using revenue-share option.
Above 120% AMI. 50% participant contribution: out of pocket, solar loan, or VPP revenue-sharing arrangement where the contribution is recovered over time from grid services income.
One of the most important design decisions in any community benefit framework is who counts as "the community." The CGC defines it the right way: the people who actually bear the costs.
Why this matters: A household 25 miles from a data center still pays higher electricity rates because of it. Defining "the community" as utility customers within the affected rate class matches the actual distribution of harm — and dramatically expands the number of people who can benefit from the CGC fund. A 5-mile radius might encompass 500 households. The utility service territory might encompass 500,000. The VPP gets larger, the benefit is proportionate to the impact, and the definition is legally cleaner and harder to challenge.
Co-investment model. Equal thirds: 33% LMI (100% coverage) · 33% moderate (75%) · 33% market-rate (50%).
| Data Center Investment | 1% Fund | Systems Deployed | VPP Capacity | Est. Annual Savings / HH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500M | $5M | 195–280 homes | 1.6–2.8 MW | $900–$1,400/yr |
| $1B | $10M | 390–560 homes | 3.1–5.6 MW | $900–$1,400/yr |
| $2B | $20M | 780–1,120 homes | 6.2–11.2 MW | $900–$1,400/yr |
| $3B | $30M | 1,170–1,680 homes | 9.4–16.8 MW | $900–$1,400/yr |
| $5B | $50M | 1,950–2,800 homes | 15.6–28 MW | $900–$1,400/yr |
VPP participation revenue adds an estimated $150–$300/yr per household on top of direct energy savings. Market-rate participants using the VPP revenue-share option may recover their 50% contribution over time with no upfront cost. Package 4 (Grid Flexibility/smart thermostat DR) costs only $75–$500 per participant — adding thermostat enrollees to the mix significantly expands VPP capacity and community reach at minimal fund cost. Independent validation: Brattle Group / NRDC (June 2026). All figures illustrative. Not financial advice.
Adjust the sliders to estimate the community impact of a CGC agreement for a data center in your area.
Co-investment model: equal thirds (33% LMI / 33% moderate-income / 33% market-rate). Battery storage anchors Solar and Heat Pump packages. Smart Thermostat DR Package deployable to additional households not counted here. All figures illustrative. Actual results depend on local costs, electricity rates, and utility market conditions.
Each focus state already has the policy infrastructure to make the CGC work.
The CGC aligns interests that are usually in conflict.
Everything needed to understand, negotiate, implement, and legislate the CGC.
The CGC is updated as pilots develop, feedback arrives, and policy landscapes evolve. Major changes are documented here.
The Community Grid Compact (CGC) is publicly released under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. The Brattle Group's independent analysis for NRDC (June 2026) validates the core model across four metro areas including Atlanta, confirming 160–700+ MW firm peak capacity per MSA and $80/kW-yr annualized cost for demand response. North Carolina added as a fifth focus state following interest from the NC Sustainable Energy Association and alignment with the Governor's Energy Policy Task Force.
Smart thermostat demand response added as a fourth deployment package alongside Battery + Solar, Battery + Heat Pump, and the Efficiency Package. Package 4 requires no rooftop work, is renter-eligible, costs ~$75–$500 per participant, and delivers VPP capacity at $80/kW-yr — the lowest-cost measure in the portfolio. Heat pump HVAC in Package 2 also recognized as a demand response asset via pre-conditioning and load shift.
Participant mix updated from 50/25/25 (LMI/moderate/market-rate) to equal thirds (33/33/33), reflecting broader community demographics and increasing the equitable reach of the fund. All fund sizing tables and calculator updated accordingly.
Framework substantially shaped by substantive feedback from Georgia Solar Energy Association, Solar United Neighbors, NC Sustainable Energy Association, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Key additions: weatherization as precursor for LMI homes, categorical SNAP/WIC eligibility, third-party aggregator access requirements, green bank nesting, public health commitments, renter protections, and domestic content preference.
New Jersey became the first state to enact comprehensive data center accountability legislation (S731/A796, signed July 7, 2026), establishing a new ratepayer class, cost ring-fencing, and demand flexibility requirements. The law independently validates the CGC's core cost causation principle. Critically, it creates no direct community energy benefits — the CGC fills that gap. Water use reporting and recycling commitments elevated to a universal CGC baseline provision across all focus states.
Opposition to local data centers has risen to 70–75% nationally, up 12 points in four months (Annenberg/Penn, Gallup, Embold Research, August 2026). New Yale/Rewiring America research frames the opposition as "a bad bargain, not a rejection of development" — directly validating the CGC approach. Community definition upgraded: eligible households now defined as all customers of the serving utility within the affected rate class, not just a 5-mile radius — matching how ratepayer harm actually flows and dramatically expanding the number of beneficiaries. 300+ data center accountability bills filed across 30+ states; 7+ states now considering mandatory CBA requirements. Legislative landscape section added.
State-specific appendices for all five focus states. Documentation of first pilot Community Energy Agreement negotiations. Georgia PSC engagement notes. NC Task Force presentation materials.
The CGC is a living framework. If you are using it, adapting it, or negotiating with it — your experience makes it stronger for everyone. We want to hear from you.
Share Your FeedbackOr email directly: don@solarcrowdsource.com
The Community Grid Compact (CGC) is not proprietary. It was developed to be used — by communities negotiating with data center developers, by advocates building policy campaigns, by legislators drafting statutes, and by anyone else working to ensure that data center growth delivers real benefits to the people who host it.
This framework was conceived and developed by Don Moreland, Georgia Solar Energy Association, with AI drafting assistance. The ideas, strategic direction, policy judgments, and community input behind it are human. AI was used as a drafting and structuring tool — the same way policy work uses every tool available to it. The four organizations that reviewed and substantially shaped this framework (Georgia Solar Energy Association, Solar United Neighbors, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy) engaged seriously with the substance. The Brattle Group's independent analysis for NRDC (June 2026) provides third-party validation of the core model.
You are free to: Use this framework in whole or in part. Adapt it for your state, community, or campaign. Share it with colleagues, legislators, or developers. Translate it. Build on it. You do not need to ask permission.
One request: If you use or adapt this work, a simple credit helps keep the community of users connected and allows improvements to flow back to everyone. Suggested citation:
Community Grid Compact (CGC). Conceived and developed by Don Moreland. Released under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0, 2026. Available at cgc.org
To share improvements, adaptations, or pilot results — or to get in touch about the framework — contact don@solarcrowdsource.com
🅭 CC BY 4.0 — Creative Commons AttributionData center development is not slowing. Community opposition is accelerating. New Jersey just enacted the first data center accountability law in the nation — and it creates no direct community energy benefits. The CGC fills that gap.