Amazon investing $1B in data center communities

Amazon plans to invest $1 billion in communities where it builds data centers over the next five years, the company announced Friday.

The e-commerce and cloud computing giant will put the funds toward free community college and workforce training for residents, as well as energy efficiency upgrades.

“We understand why there is apprehension in some communities where data centers are being built,” Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman wrote in a blog post .

“While there is much we (and other data center operators) are already doing, we’ve decided to codify our practices into a series of tenets that we’re calling our ‘Amazon Data Center Commitment,'” he added.

The firm said it will ensure the facilities don’t raise residents’ electricity bills and pledged to no longer use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).

Amazon is also aiming to make its data centers “water positive” by 2030, meaning they would return more water to the system than they use. It intends to annually publish information about water usage and efficiency, as well as energy usage and efficiency.

The new commitments come as data centers have become increasingly unpopular , complicating the push to rapidly build more of the server warehouses across the country to support AI development.

A recent poll from Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of Americans would be uncomfortable with a data center operating in their area.

Central to the backlash are concerns about the impact on energy costs and the environment . Half of those in the Pew survey said data centers were mostly bad for home energy costs, while 54 percent said they were mostly bad for the environment.

Garman suggested Friday that some of the pushback is misinformed, arguing that allegations data centers are “taking all of our water” or are “responsible for driving up all the energy rates” are false or misleading.

“There is urgency to this data center buildout because we aren’t the only country that sees the benefits of AI for the economy and national security, and the countries that lead in AI will shape it and get the most from it in the short and long run,” the AWS CEO wrote.

“The choices we make today will determine that outcome, and a lapse in our nation’s focus or resolve could put us behind, and potentially irreparably so,” he added.