A megawatt used by a data center produces far fewer jobs and community benefit than, say, a megawatt used by a research lab. I support a ban on data centers until we can institute some sort of measure like my proposed Oregon Load-Value Standard, that would make clear what public investment is buying, or private investment is doing. Basically, measuring the public return per megawatt. This standard could measure jobs and tax revenue created, the cost of new infrastructure, environmental effects, and community benefits other than jobs created.
Power capacity is getting scarce. A Load-Value Standard would be an objective way to determine the uses of the available, or proposed, capacity that have the most or clearest public benefit. Included woul also be the specific agreements that would turn the promised benefits into actual obligations.
