Public Advisors Group

Data center proposals often require coordination across multiple departments, agencies, utilities, developers, and community organizations.

PAG helps cities, counties, economic development organizations, and other public entities establish an organized process for evaluating these projects.

Our services include:

Project and policy coordination
Identification of unanswered technical and community questions
Stakeholder mapping and engagement planning
Coordination among local government departments
Review of community impacts and public service requirements
Development of public meeting and decision-making processes
Community benefit planning
Grant and funding strategy
Emergency preparedness and continuity planning
Coordination with qualified engineering, legal, environmental, utility, and regulatory professionals

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE

Community confidence begins with early, transparent, and meaningful engagement.

PAG provides direct, boots-on-the-ground engagement designed to ensure that residents, businesses, public agencies, community organizations, and other stakeholders feel heard, respected, and included in the decision-making process.

Our community engagement services include:

Stakeholder identification and social network analysis
Community listening sessions
Public meetings and facilitated discussions
Interviews with residents, businesses, and community leaders
Public information and educational materials
Community surveys and feedback collection
Community concern tracking and response
Coordination with utilities, emergency services, schools, employers, and community organizations
Development of transparent public participation processes
Communication between public officials, developers, and residents

PAG helps public entities understand community priorities, identify areas of concern, communicate accurate information, and create a process that supports informed public participation.

POWER GENERATION AND LARGE-LOAD PLANNING

Data centers can require substantial and continuous electrical capacity. The source, reliability, cost, and community impact of that power can become central to the success of a proposed project.

PAG helps local governments and project partners coordinate the policy, public engagement, and community benefit considerations associated with large electrical loads and new power generation.

Areas of support include:

Coordination with utilities and power producers
Large-load planning and public policy considerations
New power generation associated with data center development
Advanced nuclear energy and other generation options
Grid capacity and reliability considerations
Backup generation and fuel storage planning
Emergency power and continuity considerations
Public communication regarding energy demand and generation
Coordination with qualified engineers, utilities, developers, and regulators

PAG supports the governmental and community aspects of power planning while working alongside the technical professionals responsible for engineering, utility analysis, licensing, and regulatory compliance.

SMALL MODULAR REACTORS AND ADVANCED NUCLEAR ENERGY

Small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technologies may provide the reliable, continuous power required by large data centers while supporting broader goals involving grid reliability, economic development, and energy resilience.

PAG helps local governments organize the public-sector responsibilities associated with proposed SMR and advanced nuclear projects. Our role focuses on governmental coordination, community engagement, public benefits, grant strategy, emergency preparedness, workforce development, and communication among the organizations involved.

Our services include:

Local government readiness and implementation planning
Community engagement and public education
Stakeholder identification and social network analysis
Coordination with federal, state, and local agencies
Grant and public funding strategy
Emergency preparedness and interagency coordination
Workforce and economic development planning
Community benefit development
Coordination with reactor developers, utilities, power producers, engineering and licensing firms, landowners, and prospective energy users
Translation of technical information into clear materials for public officials and community members

PAG brings substantial experience working within federal grant, disaster recovery, regulatory, and intergovernmental systems. Our team has managed more than $50 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance reimbursements, coordinated directly with FEMA Region X, and worked across programs involving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Economic Development Administration, National Science Foundation, and other federal partners.

This experience allows PAG to help communities organize federal coordination, funding compliance, public engagement, emergency planning, and implementation responsibilities associated with complex energy and infrastructure initiatives.

PAG works alongside the qualified engineers, reactor developers, utilities, licensing professionals, legal counsel, emergency services, and regulatory agencies responsible for technical design, safety analysis, environmental review, licensing, and regulatory compliance.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

A major development project should create measurable and lasting benefits for the community that hosts it.

PAG helps public officials identify, evaluate, negotiate, document, and monitor potential community benefits connected to data center and energy infrastructure development.

Potential benefits may include:

Local employment opportunities
Workforce training and apprenticeship programs
Infrastructure improvements
Support for fire, emergency medical, and law enforcement services
Educational investments
Utility and energy resilience improvements
Environmental protections
Water conservation and infrastructure support
Local business and procurement opportunities
Housing and transportation investments
Community facilities and public services
Tax revenue and long-term economic development
Productive use of reclaimed heat
Performance measures and accountability requirements

PAG can assist with the development of community benefit agreements, public commitments, implementation plans, reporting requirements, and methods for measuring whether promised benefits are delivered.

GRANT STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT

Data center and energy infrastructure projects can create opportunities for public funding that supports related community improvements.

PAG helps public entities identify and pursue grants for:

Economic development
Workforce development
Energy resilience
Emergency preparedness
Public safety
Transportation and infrastructure
Water and wastewater systems
Environmental assessment and remediation
Housing and community development
Education and technical training
Hazard mitigation
Community engagement

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Large industrial and technology projects can affect emergency response requirements, public safety resources, continuity planning, and community resilience.

PAG brings extensive experience in emergency management, public safety planning, disaster recovery, continuity of operations, and interagency coordination.

Our services include:

Emergency response capacity considerations
Fire protection and emergency medical service planning
Backup power and fuel storage considerations
Hazard identification and consequence planning
Emergency operations planning
Continuity of operations planning
Business continuity coordination
Evacuation, sheltering, and public information planning
Training and exercise development
Interagency coordination
Community resilience planning
Coordination with fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, utilities, hospitals, schools, and other essential service providers

PAG helps communities consider emergency preparedness early in the development process so that public safety needs can be identified, planned, funded, and incorporated into project decisions.

WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Data center and energy projects can create construction activity, specialized employment, training opportunities, and local business growth.

PAG helps communities connect these investments to local priorities through:

Workforce development planning
Coordination with schools, community colleges, unions, and training providers
Local hiring and procurement strategies
Apprenticeship and technical training opportunities
Coordination with economic development organizations
Identification of related industries and secondary economic opportunities

Our goal is to help communities translate major private investment into durable local benefits.

WATER, LAND USE, AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Data center proposals can affect water supply, wastewater systems, transportation, land use, public utilities, and other essential infrastructure.

PAG helps public entities organize the questions, stakeholders, and technical resources required to evaluate these impacts.

Areas of consideration include:

Water demand and conservation
Wastewater capacity
Cooling systems
Stormwater management
Transportation and road impacts
Electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure
Land use and compatibility
Noise and lighting
Backup generators and fuel storage
Housing and workforce impacts
Solid waste management
Fire flow and emergency access
Public infrastructure costs

PAG coordinates these considerations with qualified technical professionals and helps communicate the findings to decision-makers and the community.

WHY PUBLIC ADVISORS GROUP

PAG brings together professionals with experience in local and state government, emergency management, public policy, law, land use, grant administration, community engagement, infrastructure planning, disaster recovery, and program implementation.

Our team understands how major projects affect government operations, public services, community trust, and long-term resilience.

PAG offers public entities an independent advisory resource focused on protecting the public interest, strengthening community participation, identifying measurable benefits, and supporting informed decision-making.

We help communities create a clear process for evaluating major development proposals and planning for the responsibilities and opportunities that follow.

OUR APPROACH

Listen

We begin by understanding the proposed project, the community, the decision-making process, and the concerns of residents, public officials, service providers, businesses, and other stakeholders.

Assess

We identify key questions involving energy, infrastructure, public safety, workforce, economic development, community benefits, grants, and public engagement.

Coordinate

We help organize communication among government agencies, utilities, developers, technical professionals, community organizations, and residents.

Engage

We develop and conduct public participation activities that provide accurate information and meaningful opportunities for community input.

Plan

We help public entities develop strategies, agreements, funding plans, performance measures, and implementation structures.

Support

We remain available through project evaluation, public engagement, grant development, implementation, reporting, and ongoing community coordination.

EVALUATING A DATA CENTER PROPOSAL?

Public Advisors Group helps cities, counties, economic development organizations, utilities, and community partners establish an independent, transparent, and community-centered process for evaluating data center and energy infrastructure proposals.

Contact PAG to discuss your community’s needs now.

DISCUSS YOUR COMMUNITY’S NEEDS