Amazon Pledges $1 Billion for Data Center Communities as US Backlash Grows - Newsweek
Amazon has announced a $1 billion investment framework for communities where it operates data centers across the United States.
The initiative comes as the proliferation of data centers across the country has become a nationwide flashpoint, with residents and lawmakers voicing concerns over the facilities' electricity and water consumption, environmental impacts, and proximity to residential areas.
Announcing the plan on Friday, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said that the "Built Together" community program will see Amazon "add more than $1 billion over the next five years to what we're already doing—with communities in the driver's seat to determine what’s most useful for them across education, job training, energy affordability, water and energy preservation, and local priorities."
Newsweek contacted Amazon for additional comment via email on Friday.
Data centers are facilities housing computer servers and other equipment used to store, manage, process and transmit large quantities of data. They provide the computing infrastructure behind online services such as artificial intelligence systems. Their equipment can require substantial electricity, while some facilities also use significant amounts of water for cooling, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Amazon said its community program would focus on three areas. First, it plans to fund community college courses and vocational training for residents near its data centers, including qualifications for work in fields such as electrical engineering, heating and cooling systems, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing.
Second, the company said it will provide grants for energy- and water-efficiency improvements in homes, schools and public buildings, including insulation, heating systems, batteries and solar installations.
It also said it would provide funding for projects selected in consultation with local officials, nonprofit groups and residents.
The announcement followed a Tuesday meeting at the White House attended by President Donald Trump and leading technology executives, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
Trump has backed data center expansion amid rivalry over AI dominance with China, despite some hesitation over the controversial developments within his own party.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” he wrote in an August post on the Truth Social platform. Trump added: “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”
While Trump has championed data center development, polls suggest Americans’ attitudes to the facilities are becoming increasingly negative.
A September Pew Research report found that 54 percent of Americans considered data centers mostly bad for the environment, up from 39 percent in January. Half believed they were mostly bad for household energy costs, while 49 percent viewed them as mostly bad for nearby residents’ quality of life.
In May, a Gallup survey found that seven in 10 opposed the construction of AI data centers in their local area, including 48 percent who strongly opposed.
Garman also pushed back on several common criticisms of data centers on Friday, including claims that they raise energy rates, consume vast quantities of water, generate significant pollution and provide few benefits to local communities. Amazon characterized those claims as “myths.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Cristina Diciu.
