The five questions that decide a project

01PowerIs a grid connection available, and when?02LandBrownfield, business park, landowner: what is the site worth?03DemandWho will use the capacity?04Local acceptanceWater, noise, heat, jobs: which figures to prepare?05Local benefitsTax, jobs, spillovers: what to expect?

Typical situations on this question →

Offer · Neutral analysis of announced benefits

A developer announces jobs, tax revenue, heat reuse. Before a land sale vote, a zoning change or a council decision, we help the local authority check these claims and obtain written commitments.

You receive:

  • a critical reading of claims: permanent jobs, construction jobs, revenue
  • the questions to put to the developer and the tax authorities
  • the commitments to include in an agreement: jobs, training, heat, water
  • a clear, neutral debrief to councillors

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

The problem. Benefits are often a project's first argument and councillors' first question. Announced figures are rarely comparable: construction and permanent jobs mixed, direct and indirect jobs added together, tax revenue estimated without method.

LOCAL TAX

What a data center pays, and to whom Property tax (taxe foncière): paid by the owner. A data center can qualify as an industrial establishment, whose rental value is then based on the cost of buildings and installations rather than floor area; decided case by case
Business property contribution (CFE): paid by the operator; depending on the intermunicipal tax regime, it goes to the municipality or the intermunicipal body
Development tax: paid once, at construction
In practice: amounts depend on installation value, classification and local decisions. Ask the developer for a costed estimate and have it checked by the tax authorities

JOBS

FigureSource
A 60 MW site: about 300 jobs announced in time, of which around sixty permanent contractsTelehouse CEO, quoted by AFP, June 2026 (operator's statement)
15 to 20 jobs for a data center versus 300 to 400 for a logistics warehouse of the same sizeLoup Cellard, sociologist, quoted by AFP, June 2026
0.61 indirect or induced job per direct jobEY-Parthenon barometer, 2024, cited by Les News Eco

The right question is not "how many jobs?" but "how many permanent on-site jobs, and how much maintenance and subcontracting goes to local firms?".

WHO IS INVOLVED

Blandine Cazelles

Blandine Cazelles

Crisis communication & public affairs

Founder of a network of senior crisis management experts, former regional head of communications at La Poste, former Senate chief of staff. Read profile →

Frédéric Arnaud

Frédéric Arnaud

Founder & coordinator

Single point of contact: scopes each mission and brings in the right experts. Former PwC auditor and Hitachi Consulting consultant. Read profile →

HOW IT WORKS

A first conversation. You describe the project and the decision at stake. We tell you whether we can help, and who will be involved.
A confidentiality agreement. Signed before you send us any document.
A written, fixed-fee proposal. Scope, deliverables, timeline and fees set in advance: no open-ended time-based billing.
The assignment and debrief. A written deliverable, a debrief session, and the questions to put to the grid operator or your partners.

WHAT WE COMMIT TO

Recent assignments

Review of connection documents and the announced energisation date for a European data center developer, ahead of its investment decision. Audit of high-voltage equipment sourcing for a petrochemical group.

Independence

We do not design, build or sell equipment. No commission, no brokerage. Never on both sides of the same project.

Framework

Confidentiality agreement before any document. Professional liability insurance. Best-efforts obligation: only RTE and Enedis commit to capacity and a date.

DESCRIBE YOUR SITUATION

A few lines are enough: the project, the document or decision at stake, and your deadline. We come back to you to set up a first conversation.

First conversation confidential and with no commitment. Fixed fees proposed in writing before any assignment. Best-efforts obligation.

Sources: Fiscallia, August 2026 (property tax, CFE); AFP, 1 June 2026; Les News Eco, 10 June 2026 (in French). General information: a project's tax position must be checked with the tax authorities.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many jobs does a data center create?

Many during construction, few in operation: from a few dozen to a few hundred depending on size and what is counted.