Bitcoin Policy Institute는 농촌 지역이 AI 데이터센터를 운영할 조건으로 해당 시설이 자금을 지원하도록 제안한다.
Rural counties hosting AI data centers could distribute annual dividends to every household ranging from $4,500 to $8,900 per year without raising taxes or requiring additional payments from companies building the facilities, according to a report released today by the Bitcoin Policy Institute titled "Data Center Dividends: A Financial Model to Ensure Rural America's Economic Empowerment in the AI Age."
The proposal addresses a critical challenge facing the largest U.S. infrastructure project of the decade. Local opposition to data centers has accelerated significantly, with the number of county moratoria rising from six in 2024 to 294 in 2026. A Gallup poll from March found that 71% of Americans would oppose an AI data center in their area, exceeding the 53% who would oppose a nuclear power plant.
Sam Lyman, the Bitcoin Policy Institute's head of research and a former senior advisor and chief speechwriter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, authored the report and argues that data center dividends are necessary to secure rural economic prosperity during the AI era. He stated, "Rural counties are sitting on a digital goldmine. They have the land and the power the AI economy cannot manufacture anywhere else. But they have no mechanism for turning that valuable real estate into an asset that can transform the economic prospects of every family in their communities. Until now. Data center dividends will ensure that every household in a rural county reaps the full benefits of America's AI buildout."
One jurisdiction has approached this model. In West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, a developer has agreed to pay approximately $90 million annually to a county with 4,026 households and a current budget of roughly $41 million. The Louisiana Legislature passed Act 434 this spring, authorizing the parish's taxing bodies to return data center revenue to residents, though a House committee amendment removed the cash option before passage, leaving only property tax credits. Had the cash option remained, households in West Feliciana could have received annual dividends between $5,600 and $11,200 according to BPI estimates.
The report derives a general per-gigawatt revenue estimate using data from Loudoun County, Virginia, the nation's most data center-dependent jurisdiction and one of the few that publishes both what facilities pay and their electrical load. Based on this analysis, BPI estimates that a typical rural county hosting a one-gigawatt data center campus could distribute annual dividends of $4,500 to $8,900 to every household.
The data center dividend model draws from sovereign wealth fund principles and the Alaska Permanent Fund model. Financed by oil royalties collected by the Alaskan government, the Alaska Permanent Fund has paid annual dividends to state residents for 44 consecutive years and currently manages $91.3 billion in assets, with the typical Alaskan resident receiving approximately $1,500 in annual dividend payments over the past decade.
The report outlines three delivery mechanisms for data center dividends: direct cash payments to households, credits against property taxes or electricity bills, or establishment of county endowments to fund scholarships or services.