(Lexi Critchett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As it races to build new data centers in the US, Microsoft is vowing to shield neighboring residents from electricity price hikes, a day after President Trump called on big tech to foot the energy bill.
AI data center expansion is facing growing backlash in the US from residents concerned about electricity prices, land seizures, and the environmental toll. Sensing the discontent, Microsoft announced a "Community-First AI Infrastructure" that touts the benefits of data centers.
“Communities value new jobs and property tax revenue, but not if they come with higher power bills or tighter water supplies,” Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. “Without addressing these issues directly, even supportive communities will question the role of data centers in their backyard.
At the top of the five-point plan is Microsoft’s pledge to “pay our way to ensure our data centers don’t increase your electricity prices.” This includes covering the costs for both using the energy and expanding the electrical infrastructure.
“Especially when tech companies are so profitable, we believe that it’s both unfair and politically unrealistic for our industry to ask the public to shoulder added electricity costs for AI,” Smith added. ”Instead, we believe the long-term success of AI infrastructure requires that tech companies pay their own way for the electricity costs they create.”
As part of the plan, Microsoft is committing to minimizing water use necessary to cool its data centers, modernizing water systems for local communications, and even replenishing "more water than we withdraw.” In addition, the company is pledging to create local jobs through the data center expansion and to pay its “fair share” in local property taxes to support hospitals, schools, and parks. The final point calls for Microsoft to support and offer AI training and education for children and adults.
Microsoft aims to start implementing the plan this year and adopt similar community-first commitments in other countries as well. Still, Smith was light on details on how Microsoft plans on generating the massive amounts of power needed for its data centers, except to say the company is prioritizing innovation, efficiency, and using “nuclear energy” in some cases. Meanwhile, Trump has opposed solar and wind, advocating for oil and coal instead.
Microsoft is also just one of several large tech firms pursuing new data centers. OpenAI, Elon Musk’s xAI, Google, Amazon, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, among others, also have them in the works. But according to President Trump, the public can expect similar pledges focused on shielding consumers from electricity price hikes.
“I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. “Therefore, my Administration is working with major American Technology Companies to secure their commitment to the American People, and we will have much to announce in the coming weeks.”
In the same post, Trump said the White House had been first working with Microsoft. “Data Centers are key to that (AI) boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way,’” Trump wrote.