CASCADIA CLOUD

A Public Infrastructure for the AI Era

When Washingtonians built public dams and ports, they did more than power cities. They powered generations of opportunity. Artificial intelligence and data computing are now reshaping the economy with the same force that electricity once did. Instead of public utilities, this new infrastructure is owned by a handful of global corporations.

Cascadia Cloud proposes a different path. It envisions a publicly anchored regional cloud network that treats computing power as a shared utility, essential, renewable, and governed for the common good.

  • AI and high-capacity computing now shape research, industry, and communication as profoundly as electricity once did. Yet the infrastructure that powers it—data centers, cloud storage, and compute access—is largely privatized and controlled by a few global firms. Universities, tribes, and local governments often pay steep costs to store their own data or train AI models. Without a public alternative, Washington risks losing both economic sovereignty and control over its information systems.

  • Cascadia Cloud would build a distributed, low-carbon computing network drawing on the Northwest’s strengths in hydropower, port connectivity, and broadband. It would link universities, tribes, and small enterprises to shared high-performance computing, secure data storage, and AI training resources. Governance would mirror the successful public-power model of the Bonneville Power Administration—regional, accountable, and community-anchored.

  • By pooling capacity under public oversight, Cascadia Cloud would lower costs for research and public agencies, advance data sovereignty for tribal nations, and anchor new high-skill jobs across both urban and rural communities. Powered by renewable energy, it would also position Washington as a national leader in climate-aligned digital infrastructure.

  • The path forward begins with convening an interagency and tribal working group to map needs, identify pilot sites, and pursue federal matching funds through the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture. With legislative support, a feasibility study can move quickly—building on existing public utility, broadband, and port assets.

  • The New Deal electrified the Northwest. Cascadia Cloud can do the same for the digital age—creating a shared foundation for intelligent infrastructure that belongs to the public it serves.

“The utilities that serve the people should belong to the people.”
— Gifford Pinchot

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“Digital sovereignty begins at home — in our valleys, our ports, and our public grids.” — Warren Neth

Cascadia Cloud: A Public Utility Vision for Washington’s Digital Future

By Warren Neth, Principal, Cascadian Praxis LLC

Draft published: October 13, 2025

White Paper for Washington Democrats (2025)

Artificial intelligence and cloud computing are reshaping our economy, our politics, and our daily lives. The infrastructure behind these technologies — massive data centers that consume extraordinary amounts of electricity and water — is being built almost entirely by global corporations with little public accountability.

Washington has faced this challenge before. In the 1930s, when private monopolies controlled electricity, Washingtonians organized to create Public Utility Districts (PUDs). When telecom companies refused to extend broadband to rural communities, Democrats empowered PUDs and ports to build open-access networks. In both cases, we proved that essential infrastructure belongs in public hands.

The Cascadia Cloud is the next step in that tradition. By creating a publicly owned, renewable-powered, democratically governed AI and cloud system, Washington can ensure that the digital future serves the people, not monopolies.

Key Policy Actions

  • Establish the Cascadia Cloud Authority to coordinate governance among PUDs, tribes, ports, and state agencies.

  • Expand WaTech’s Community Cloud into a shared AI and compute platform for public institutions.

  • Designate Public Compute Zones through EFSEC to align data-center development with renewable energy and community benefits.

Finance regional compute infrastructure through PUD revenue bonds and public-finance partnerships.

Find the full White Paper HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S4dzMy4WN_SX_vTkT6dog3gJBqkCZj4mYW0-0DHGvyg/edit?usp=sharing