Trump Warns Microsoft: Don’t Make Americans Pay for AI Power
Trump Warns Microsoft: Don’t Make Americans Pay for AI Electricity
Microsoft announced a new initiative called “Community-First AI Infrastructure” that includes commitments to cover full electricity costs for data centers and avoid seeking property tax reductions.
The growth of generative AI services has led to an increase in demand for data centers, raising concerns about their impact on local communities, including rising electricity rates and strain on water supplies.
The International Energy Agency projects a significant increase in global data center electricity demand by 2030, with the US accounting for a large portion of this growth. Microsoft’s plan includes commitments to minimize water use, create local jobs, pay full property taxes, and invest in AI training programs for data center communities.
The company aims to address these issues by setting high standards for responsible data center development, with a goal to implement these commitments by the first half of 2026.
